Poem: Understand the Broken You

I won’t flinch at the fault lines,
Won’t run from the cracks—
There’s beauty in pieces
That time never tracks.
You don’t have to explain
Why the light doesn’t shine—
I’ve sat in that shadow.
I’ve called it mine.

I see how you tremble
When silence is loud,
How you fade in the mirror
But smile in the crowd.
You’ve mastered the art
Of holding it in,
Of laughing through losses
You never could win.

But broken? That word
Doesn’t mean you’re less—
It means you’ve endured
More pain than you confess.
It means you’ve been strong
In ways few will know—
It means you still bloom
Where others won’t grow.

So let yourself fall
If you need to fall through—
I won’t fix or save
Or repaint the view.
I’ll sit in the ruins
And honor what’s true—
I don’t need perfect.
I understand you.