There are so many broken places.
So many.
Fallen bridges.
Burnt to ash.
Words that pierced my heart.
Silences that almost suffocated me.
Dreams I carried so close – shattered.
And here I stand, at the edge of it all.
Looking at the wreckage of what used to be my life.
It hurts.
It hurts.
My body remembers everything.
Every time I let the disrespect slide.
Every time I swallowed my voice just to keep the peace.
Every moment I told myself it’s fine – when it never was.
Now I carry it all.
In my chest.
In my shoulders.
In my bones.
I am so tired.
Not just tired.
Exhausted.
From holding myself together while everything around me fell apart.
But still – I must move.
I must gather what’s left.
All the jagged pieces.
The sharp, painful remnants of who I used to be.
I will hold them in my trembling hands.
Not with anger.
Not with shame.
But with gentleness because they are still mine.
And then I will turn.
And walk away.
Not fast.
Not strong.
But forward.
Even if it’s just one step.
One breath.
I will not stay in the ruins.
I will not let this be the end of me.
There is something ahead.
Something better.
There has to be.
Copyright Coral-Lynn Campbell