For The Girl Who Didn’t Make It Back The Same

no one told me
how to mourn

the version of myself
that didn’t survive

not in the way
people understand survival

because I was still here

still waking up
still breathing
still moving

but something in me

was gone

and the world
kept turning

like nothing had changed

no flowers
no quiet rooms
no voices
speaking her name

so I carried her

everywhere

unseen
unspoken

like grief
without a place to go

and I used to wonder

where do I go
to pay my respects

to the girl
I used to be

but maybe

she is not lost

maybe

she lives in every part of me
that learned how to stay

in every breath
I chose to keep taking

in every piece of love
I had to rebuild

so this is for her

the girl who broke
and still brought me here

I see you

I remember you

and I am living

for both of us

JMS