the one who stayed went looking for proof of being as stupid as they said
and found it everywhere, having looked nowhere else
tore their own skin building the case from every word they handed over
and asked the ceiling what enough would take
then the warm part of them went cold and the cold went sour
and the one who stayed learned a smile for it
a smile that said nothing hurt and nothing was owed
while they looked down from the height of being right
they collected the one who stayed the way some people collect knives
to feel the weight and never once the edge
they called the cruelty honesty and the hunger love
and ate whatever in the room was soft
now the inside has an echo
the one who stayed gave the good years to hands that only cut
and still reached for them in the dark
even while they were carving
the smile stays on until the hinge goes
the loving keeps on while they take it all apart
so let them sit with what they made today
it still has their grip on it
and the tired one folds two hands in a lap like something returned
the hands shake, the hands are warm
these were never the ones that cut
—lyra moon (somewhere a dentist is calling it a clenching problem)
october 22, 2026