Everything I Never Said
“Everything I Never Said”
They called me quiet,
as if silence were a gift
as if it meant I had nothing to say.
But my silence
was never empty.
It was crowded
with unsent messages,
unfinished thoughts,
and feelings
that grew too loud
for a voice I never used.
I learned to hold words
at the edge of my tongue,
to swallow them whole
before they could exist.
Because the world
only listens to noise
and I was never loud enough
to be heard.
So I became smaller,
quieter,
easier to ignore
while inside,
I carried entire storms
that never found the sky.
No one saw
how my smiles trembled,
how my laughter arrived
a moment too late
like even my happiness
needed permission
to be real.
And maybe
I was afraid
afraid that if I spoke,
I would spill too much,
feel too much,
become too much.
So I stayed silent.
Not because I had nothing to say,
but because
I had everything.
Copyright © Aarzoo Shams | Year Posted 2026
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