LatinosUSA

«What They Don’t See» by Winnie

I have carried the burdens of many
stacking them with my own
ladened with a ball and chain
while lost in a thorny labyrinth

I have emptied others’ eyes of their tears
drank their glasses laden with sadness
yet mine flowed in invisible rivulets
steeping myself to sleep

I have soothed their pains
pulling out their shallow embedded splinters one by one
yet mine pricked in perpetuity
from a blanket of thorned roses 

I have seen their twisted smiles
on a crumbling stone of hate
yet I whispered through the wind
to heal them with a song

I have laughed like a hyena with them
lounging in abandon on a cloud of felicity
yet I wanted to weep like a child
and curled up like a baby

I have let the sun steal my glow
shadowed by its presence
contented to be the silvery moon
basking in the daylight

What they don’t see
I am a mystery
as I enshrouded the real me
for all the things they wanted me to be

* featured image from Pexels, copyright free

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The Author

Rowena Liwanag Suarez is an aspiring author who loves writing fantasy, mystery, crime fiction, and poetry. She co-authored the #1 Amazon bestselling book “Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology with her poem “Yesteryear’s Innocence”; her haikus on the #1 Amazon Bestseller on Haiku and Japanese poetry titled “Petals of Haiku: An Anthology; her poem “Sun-drenched Promise” on Another Day of Summer Anthology. She is set to publish her debut poetry book this 2025