12/18/2022
**I learned a very long time ago
to keep things buried deep inside.
Things you just don't talk about
the little secrets that we hide
I learned to be silent.
How to bear my pain alone.
I learned to rely on no one.
That I was pretty much on my own.
I learned to turn my emotions off.
When it got too painful to feel
I learned to put on a happy face
and pretend that I was real.
I learned to become invisible
that my feelings didn't matter.
I learned to die a little more
until my life began to shatter.
But then I learned to tell my story
my written words, became my voice.
I learned to take my power back
that I wasn't left without a choice.**