Anshika: “Marks Remarks leave”

Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού

She walks like a question mark carved into a body
that no longer fits the shape of living
her steps too quiet for the world to notice
her voice like an apology swallowed halfway
as if every breath she takes must first ask permission to exist
and no one ever gave her the language for love
not the kind that holds her when she’s breaking
not the kind that sees through the cracks without turning away
She is a girl whose name is known by no one in full,
because even when they say it
they never say it right
not with the care it needs
not with the gentleness she deserves
She sits in the back of classrooms, in the farthest seat at the table
in corners of photographs she never looks at again
always near the exit but never quite leaving
as if she’s waiting to be seen
There was a time when she believed
that maybe the world had space for her voice
maybe her hands could shape something beautiful
maybe her thoughts were worth more than the weight they carried
but failure came early
and then came louder voices
and then came silence
and then came the days she couldn’t bear to look at herself without feeling
like even the mirror was ashamed
She doesn’t talk because words betray her
and she doesn’t cry because even her tears are tired of falling
and she doesn’t reach out because
how do you explain a pain that has
no shape
no cause
no villain
only a constant hum of “you’re not enough” that lives in her bones
And she’s tired
Tired of pretending
Tired of answering “I’m fine” when everything in her is crumbling
She is not weak for breaking
She is not invisible for choosing the silence
She is not alone, even when she believes she is
Somewhere, a poem waits to be written in her name
Somewhere, her story is not over
just paused at the chapter
where healing begins
At the end she is just me!!