Hairline Fracture

The floorboards don't make a sound anymore
I have learned how to step between the groans
Light through the blinds cuts the dust in two
Everything stayed exactly where you left it
I am practiced at the art of holding breath
Waiting for the air to decide it is safe

Coffee goes cold in the heavy white mug
Staring at the stain where the porcelain chipped
I had a list of things I meant to tell you
But they are dissolving like salt in the rain
The silence here has a physical weight
It sits on my shoulders and demands my name

There is a hairline fracture in the ceiling
And a wider one opening inside my chest
I tried to keep the edges aligned and clean
But the glue is failing under the pressure
I am losing the battle to stay composed
The dam is leaking, and the night is cold

My fingernails are digging moons into my palms
A desperate attempt to tether my soul to the ground
But the ground is tilting away from my feet
And the words I swallowed are starting to burn
I cannot keep the ghost of a smile alive
I cannot pretend this is just how I survive

The clock on the wall has a jagged heartbeat
Counting the seconds until I finally snap
I am tired of the armor I forged from glass
It is cutting into my skin every time I move
I am tired of the space where your shadow lived
I am tired of the mercy I refuse to give

The first sob is a stranger in my own throat
It tastes like metal and years of regret
I am leaning my forehead against the wood
Hearing the wood split under the strain
The house is too small for this kind of ache
The house is too small for what I have to break

There is a hairline fracture in the ceiling
And a wider one opening inside my chest
I tried to keep the edges aligned and clean
But the glue is failing under the pressure
I am losing the battle to stay composed
The dam is leaking, and the night is cold

There is a hairline fracture in the ceiling
And a wider one opening inside my chest
I tried to keep the edges aligned and clean
But the glue is failing under the pressure
I am losing the battle to stay composed
The dam is leaking, and the night is cold