we met through the hands
of parents, aligning pieces
of our separate puzzles.
he is a nice guy,
interests folding into each other
like origami cranes.
we both sought refuge
from the chaos, shunning
the circus of social media.
writers, anime lovers,
growing up with eyes wide
at screens that told tales
we couldn’t share with anyone else.
we loved each other’s stories,
yet I build my walls,
brick by brick,
and he, the patient carpenter,
chips it away, day by day.
today, as I apologized
for my fortress, he asked,
“who hurt you like this?”
and in the silence
that followed,
his words echoed,
a haunting refrain,
unearthing ghosts
I thought I’d buried
long ago.
-G.
Unsung balladry. 