I have this indescribable need to be heard,

like I’ve never whispered a single word over the course of my life,

like I’ve never uttered an incoherent syllable under the light of the dying sun,

like I’ve never looked into the eyes of another and truly felt seen. 

 

Am I alone? 

 

Am I floating here, lost in the waves of a turbulent sea,

waiting for a lifeboat that will never come my way?

I hear myself speak,

but the silence proves louder than any clouded memories of broken conversations

where I was not present. 

I fear I will never be heard.

I fear I will never be seen. 

I fear that I fear nothing at all, no one at all. 

I fear I am alone.