To All the Children No One Saw

I’m sorry to all the children
who learned to perform
before they learned their own names,
who smiled on cue
because being different
meant being seen
and being seen
meant danger.
I’m sorry you told yourself
you were okay
such a perfect lie
you believed it for decades,
until something small
cracked the performance open
and you realized:
you never knew
what “okay” even meant.
No amount of money.
No success, no achievement,
no perfect mask
can touch this
the walking death,
the innocence
that was stolen
while everyone looked away.
You perform so well
they still don’t see you.
The child beneath
still waiting,
still silent,
still holding
what no child
should ever have to carry.
I see you now.
I’m sorry no one saw you then.