shhh

She cries in the silence.

Sometimes people hear her, but life can be all too distracting, so they move on.

She wants to be strong, brave and resilient, but resilience was never an achievement when you’ve rather have not fought the battle.

I should care more about her. Listen to her needs. Teach her how to care for herself.

But if I take too long, if I dig too deep, she’ll need more than I can provide.

If I look at her, really look and see, I can’t go back from that.

If I really listen to her cries, I may find out they’re actually screams and that’s too loud for my broken ears.

So I’ll do what I’ve always done, what everyone’s always done.

I’ll shush her, ignoring her.

As she cries in the silence.