fireflies blinked in the gathering dusk
signaling secrets he was never invited to understand
spinning globe, days to ages
a house full of mirrors
where candles never burned
a shadow that grows instead of disappearing
if only you were there
watching his eyes flicker like bleeding suns
as the neighborhood kids chase the moon
their laughter sharp as knives he couldn’t hold
cutting deeper each time he reached for the sound
oh the warmth of being considered safe by something so much smaller than you
how strange to be held and still feel the absence
yet he flinch at the echo of empty hands
curled tight in the corner of yesterday
you gather us both
the man who still apologizes for existing
the child who learned silence before he learned to stand
god i hope he survived