Quiet Contradictions

You pray for a shift, but avoid the reveal,

That comfort is coded in what doesn’t heal,

You want something new, but build from the bone,

Of everything broken, you’ve never outgrown.

Then you trade in what matters, for the need to belong,

And edit your truth, just to string them along,

You bury your hunger, beneath their delight,

Then call it connection, to make it feel right.

You lower your volume, to steady their tone,

Then wonder why love, always leaves you alone,

You mute your own voice, to soothe what they lack,

Then wake in a bond that won’t love you back.

You lead with your wounds, like a flag in the air,

Expecting their mercy, to prove that they care,

You beg to be seen, to be held through the test,

Then punish the ones who see past your unrest.

You fall for the riddle, not daring the clue,

You’re drawn to what breaks you, but name it as true ,

You wait for a bond, that won’t come at a cost,

Then grieve over things, you’ve never quite lost.

You craft a new language, then mumble the truth,

You decorate trauma, in ribbons of youth,

You say you want honesty, depth that can stay,

But run from the light, when it shows you the way.

You dream of connection, of something that saves,

Then bury the keys, in the same haunted caves,

You craft your resilience, from all you’ve endured,

Then seek out the same, just to feel reassured.

You run from the cage, but still keep the key,

Afraid of the cost, of becoming more free,

You worship what shatters, deny what repairs,

Then swear it was fate when no one compares.

Cathrine Hottran 2025