Invisible

Tucked somewhere between light and dark
There’s that sweet spot
That slice of heaven that isn’t your own little paradise at all – it’s a hideaway.

It’s like a little cave
A tiny cave hidden in the middle of nowhere.
No one can see it, no matter how hard they look.
No one would look, anyway.

In the cave, it’s safe.
It’s warm.
There’s a little fire keeping you cozy from the cold outside.
A tiny hole in the wall through which light from the outside world peeks in.

The cave is all you have.
So you sit,
And make yourself comfortable.
After all, you’re going nowhere.
Outside, no one’s searching for you.
No one’s even noticed there’s a You.

So no — no one’s worried.
Why?
Because no one sees you.

So you sit.
And wait.
For what?
You don’t know.

You feel the rocky ground digging into your skin,
Feel the coldness of the wall on your back
You raise your head to the roof – stalactites. And then you smile wistfully and remember Geography
And all the things you learned while you sat in a roomful of kids.
Kids that talked over you
Walked right past you
Saw right through you.

When you tried to speak, no words came.
When the words came, no one listened.
So you clamped your lips shut.
You fell silent

You swallow your words.
Since no one wants to listen

Then you wander through life,
Existing
But unseen
You’re like the shadow, unnoticed and ignored.

No one looks at the shadow.
Or do they?

It doesn’t matter.

So you sit.
The outside world is loud in your ears:
Voices, noise, song.
The messiness of living.

The hours drag on in silence.
Your thoughts scream in your ears.
The words form in your throat – all the words you’ve left unsaid.
The burden in your heart grows.
Because you know, no one’s coming to look for you.

So you sit in your cave tucked between light and dark,
You sit, and you wait.
But who will come for you?
Who will listen?

And then your throat opens
The dam bursts
And your words tumble over each other,
All of them scrambling past your lips,
Desperate to be said.

You speak.
You stare at the walls of the cave,
At the dancing flames
They’re your audience – these ones.
They listen
They absorb it all.

So you speak.
And you cry.
And you yell.

You go on for what feels like an eternity
The burden in your heart lightens
Your shoulders sag in relief
The darkness recedes
There’s a bit of light shining through
It almost feels like the cave is smiling at you.

You wrap your arms around your knees.
The light seems to grow bigger.

And then, you smile.

Maybe there’s hope yet.
Maybe there’s someone that sees you.
And it’s not the cave,
Or the flames
Or the world outside that doesn’t know you exist.

It’s You.
And, for now, that’ll have to do.
Until you find others that see You too.

P.S: Written in commemoration of this year’s Mental Health Day. Just a little reminder that You deserve to be seen, even when you feel invisible.