I held it all
inside my chest—
anger, regret,
every dirty secret
I thought made me
unworthy,
ugly truths
piled up
like garbage
I couldn’t bury
fast enough.

I clenched my teeth
until my jaw cracked,
bit back screams
until my throat
was a fist,
locked, shaking.

Nobody warned me
that silence
rots from the inside,
that quiet poisons
faster than words,
that the things I hide
are sharper
when they’re held back
too long.

Now, I explode—
a mess,
a disaster,
wreckage thrown everywhere,
hurting everyone
I love,
covering everything
in the pieces
of all the shit
I thought I could swallow.

Holding it in
never protected anyone.
It just made sure
that when I broke,
it would be loud,
violent,
impossible
to undo.