They Asked Why I Don’t Talk Anymore

They asked Why I don’t talk anymore Why my mouth Feels like a locked room I smiled Like silence Was a choice Not a scream with no voice Words Used to live here Now they hide In places I don’t visit Some words bleed When spoken Some carry knives In their syllables Every “I’m fine” Is a quiet funeral Buried Without anyone watching I tried Tried to explain But pain Doesn’t translate easily They want answers But not the kind That crawl Out from broken memories They want “Better now” Not “It still hurts every morning” My silence Isn’t empty It’s overflowing With what I never said The truth? Talking Costs too much When no one really listens So I stitched My mouth shut With invisible thread Made of all the times I was ignored And now I sit with myself A little quieter A little stronger Because silence Isn’t weakness It’s what happens When strength runs out