The quiet awakening

Additional Prompt:  The Quiet Awakening I watched the screen, I waited for a sign, A little heart, a word to say I’m fine. Each passing silence whispered, “You’re alone,” As if my worth depended on a phone. We learned to belong before we learned to be, To follow the circle, to seek the “we.” A smile could mean shelter, a hand could mean home, So deep in our blood, we fear being alone. But why do I tremble When no one can see? Why must their reflection Tell me who I should be? I am enough when no one calls my name, Enough in the silence, untouched by praise. I don’t need the mirror to tell me I’m real, I don’t need their judgment to know what I feel. The world may approve, the world may turn away— I remain, I remain. And something awakens in me. I shaped my face for a thousand eyes, Changed my colors beneath changing skies. I chased every whisper, every approving smile, Forgot my own footsteps along the miles. Then someone said, “Validation is a mirror, But you are still there when nobody’s near.” And suddenly silence was not empty space— It opened a doorway to my own embrace. Maybe the self I was fighting to prove Was only a shadow I thought I could lose. Maybe the “me” I was trying to defend Was never separate from all things in the end. No more chasing every changing breeze, No more begging the world to give me peace. I close my eyes… And there is no one to impress. Only this breath. Only this moment. Only life. No one has to see me… For me to be. No one has to love me… For me to love. The search has grown silent. The heart has awakened. I am enough.