Noise

The world hums with voices,

buzzing, clanging,

a static that presses against my chest.

They tell me who to be,

how to move, how to feel,

as if my heart could follow a script.

At first, I tried to answer,

matching their pitch,

nodding to their rhythm,

but it never fit,

never landed where I am.

Then I closed my ears to the chatter,

leaned into the quiet

that lives beneath the storm.

Slowly, a voice emerged,

soft at first,

then stronger, clearer,

my own.