Kept

Photo by Polina Shirokova on Unsplash

I am not waiting for you to love me.
You already do,
in your own way.

I am not waiting for you to say I’m beautiful.
I am thorned, intact,
uncrushed by your hands.

I am not waiting for you to see me.
You have been the bluest light.
You do not flinch at the dust, the hair,
the knotted sins I’ve pushed underneath.

I am not waiting for you to leave
after the knowing cuts.
You stand firm in the bleeding.

You love.
You know.
You stay.

Still you never choose.

You see everything of me
and still
you keep me, this thing
you will not choose.

©Just Kayla, 2026

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