Born to say I love you
like it was the only language my heart knew,
like every beat was a sentence
and every breath spelled your name.

Forced to say I’m fine
when my chest was collapsing under truths
I wasn’t allowed to speak.

Born to say I’m here
and mean it with the weight of my whole soul.
Forced to say Goodbye
with lips that trembled
and eyes that betrayed the lie.

Born to speak hope into our storms,
to build forever out of fragile days.
Forced to swallow my words
when forever became something you couldn’t hold.

Born to choose you.
Forced to lose you.

And somewhere between
what I was born to say
and what I was forced to say—
I lost the voice
that was mine.