It found me quiet That’s how it starts Not loud Not all at once Just something to keep the room from going empty I thought I chose it It felt like staying informed like I was finally paying attention Like I could see the line between what mattered and what didn’t Every story sharpened something in me every voice sounded urgent And I carried it with me like it meant I was awake There was always something happening something I needed to know right now And the silence — I stopped trusting it Something didn’t settle The story moved before it finished And no one said it moved It wasn’t my voice It just sounded like it Right there in my chest setting the pace I thought it was my heartbeat But it was something else learning the rhythm And I kept it close like it belonged to me Once I heard it I started hearing it everywhere Same urgency different words The wound never closing just changing shape Every answer replaced before it could land And something underneath it all keeping time Not too much not too little Just enough to keep it going It wasn’t my voice It just stayed with me Right there in my chest setting the pace It never asked it just answered first Before I could think And I carried it like it was mine It cost me slowly Conversations I couldn’t stay inside without pulling it in The way everything started to sound like it needed a side I stopped hearing people just the signal inside them And the quiet — I couldn’t sit in it anymore I remember the moment Something didn’t match What I felt and what I heard myself say And for a second just a second it dropped out And I heard the difference It isn’t my voice I can hear it now Right there in my chest but not alone There’s something underneath it quieter Still mine And it doesn’t rush it doesn’t need to But it’s still there It’s still there… Both of them
