They say I choose how I feel,
but my hands still tremble
when ghosts walk by
drenched in familiar smiles.

They say I decide what breaks me.
Tell that to my lungs
under the weight
of remembered silence.

Time can’t burn what’s already scarred
when my body ignites
with buried memories
my mind locked deep.

And while they post pretty pastel quotes
within a safe zen-level universe,
I bravely hold my last breath—
for my bare bones survival.