No one understands
The way the thoughts trickle through
Like the leak
In the pipe upstairs

And my mom can spot
That stain on the ceiling
Where the water pools up
But she can’t spot
The darkness that crept in
Through the unlocked windows
To the corners of my head

And no one could hear the sound
of the dark thoughts growing
Stretching down to my lungs
Suffocating me.

I can’t hear it either
over the laughter and noises
of high school classrooms and loud cars
but it’s always there in those awkward silences that normal kids joke about
and it’s always there when I let my mind wander
and it’s always there at the moments I let myself believe I finally overcame.