Every night
I cry myself to sleep,
eyes swollen like the sky
after a storm that never asked
for anyone’s permission.
But you—
you only notice the photos.
Not the trembling hands
that took them,
not the silence between my messages,
not the nights where my chest feels
too heavy to breathe.
You look at me
like a body,
not a battlefield.
I cry myself to sleep
and you scroll through my pictures
like they are the only truth about me—
curves, skin,
the parts of me that are easy to want.
My pain doesn’t fit in the frame,
so you pretend it doesn’t exist.
You say,
“Smile for me.”
Because my smile
makes your tiredness disappear,
calms your long day,
soothes your restless mind.
Funny, isn’t it?
How my smile is medicine for you
but my tears
are just background noise.
I cry myself to sleep
while you talk about my body
like that’s all I am—
a collection of soft places
for your eyes to rest on.
As if my heart
isn’t cracking open
a little more every night.
And before I leave,
before the screen goes dark,
you ask for one last kiss—
a small ritual
to make you happy.
So I give it.
Because somewhere inside
this tired, bruised soul of mine
I still hope
someone will notice
that the girl who sends the kiss
is the same girl
who spends the whole night
crying into her pillow
alone.