if they say “i’m just tired”
but their eyes hold ten hurricanes
and a house they rebuilt
by hand,
pull them closer.
some people cry in invisible languages
and call it “just a long day.”
some people rebuild
every room of themselves
after the storm
and still say
“it’s no big deal.”
some people carry coffins in their chest.
some people only survive
by burying the pain beneath
"i'm good."
“it’s just been a lot lately”
is code for:
i screamed into a pillow
so no one would hear me
and called it emotional regulation.
hug that person
like they’re the sky
and you’re the rain.
if you love someone,
listen for the heaviness
they don’t name.
and then love them harder there.
remind them it’s okay to collapse
into someone else’s steadiness.
remind them you built yours
for that very reason.
god lives in the way you don’t look away.
Wow, each paragraph was a big long breath of understanding and feeling.
This one hit deep into my feelings and also an awareness to be for others.
Boy, this one landed. Hard.