Quiet Yes

I learned how to nod before I knew the cost Kept my mouth soft, kept the edges lost Said I’m fine in a hundred different ways Wore it like a shirt I couldn’t take off for days Read the room like a holy book Every glance, every pause, every look Bent myself just enough to belong Till I couldn’t tell what was mine or wrong You smile, I echo You speak, I follow Somewhere in the middle I went hollow I said yes when I meant no Let it in, let it overflow Kept the peace, kept the show Now I’m tired of the role I chased eyes, chased praise Built a life on borrowed ways If I stop, will I fade? Or just finally be the same? There’s a quiet kind of breaking down No sound, just losing ground Wake up and the day feels thin Like I’m outside looking in Nothing sharp, just worn out skin No big fall, just caving in Every version I tried to be Left less of me for me No one’s asking Still I’m acting Even silence Feels like masking I said yes when I meant no Let it in, let it overflow Kept the peace, kept the show Now I’m tired of the role I chased eyes, chased praise Built a life on borrowed ways If I stop, will I fade? Or just finally be the same? It got quiet one night No noise left to hide behind No voice telling me what to do Just the truth, sitting in the room Nothing broke, nothing healed No grand thing revealed Just a thought I couldn’t shake: I don’t have to be okay So I let a moment pass me by Didn’t fix it, didn’t try Let the silence say enough Let it be a little rough Spoke a word I didn’t plan Felt it land in my own hands Didn’t feel like winning anything Just not pretending I say no when it’s no Let it land, let it show Take a step, take it slow I don’t need you to know Not a change you can see Just a quieter me Walking where I can stand One small truth at a time No applause, no design No one else in my mind Just a life I can keep And a night where I sleep