Untitled poem

Feeling alone.
Feeling isolated.
Building walls and calling it protection.

I push everyone away
and blame myself for the distance,
as if I chose this emptiness
with steady hands.

I can’t let them carry this.
I won’t.
Not again.

I tell myself I’m not worth the worry,
not worth the pause in their day,
not worth the effort it takes to care.

Save it, I say.
Use it on someone stronger.
Someone lighter.
Someone who won’t crack under the weight.

Someone worth helping.
Worth saving.

Someone—
anyone—

but me.