Shadows Within

By Pratishtha Kumari

No one can hurt me on purpose

Only I have the courage to hurt myself.

No one can make me angry,

Yet I push people away,

Making sure they leave me first.

I am the only one who decides

When and how I break.

I hurt myself

To make others notice me,

To make them think of me before they speak.

 I act like I need pity,

But inside, I am not.

Years of rejection have shaped me,

Old wounds keep reopening,

And pain has become my companion.

By Pratishtha Kumari