I thought I’d be the one

I thought I’d be the one someone would fight to keep. That my absence would make you pause, that my silence would make you care. I wasn’t asking for the world— just a sign that I mattered. But here I stand, wondering if I’ll always be the one waiting to be seen. Maybe I’m learning now: No one’s coming back. The fight I was waiting for starts with me. To walk forward, alone if I have to, and hold my head high— knowing I am enough, even when no one showed me.