Silence

Has anyone ever told you the truth about isolation? No, not the tranquil kind. The one with a physical presence. The one that coils around you and squeezes until you implode. Where you’re alone, but you’re not really alone, surrounded by a tangible darkness, suddenly hyper-aware of every single thought that flickers through your consciousness. Suffer in silence, they say. Celebrate in silence, they forget to add. It’s like a one-man circus, Orchestrating impossible feats alone. And when they laugh, I’m crestfallen. “Don’t rain on my parade” I sob, standing at the bottom of the lake.