The Quiet Ache

The Quiet Ache

written by: Saidu Adamu

 

I smile like nothing’s broken,
but there are cracks behind my teeth.
Laughter comes easy,
but it doesn’t stay—
it slips through me
like water through fingers
that forgot how to hold.

Nights are the hardest.
That’s when my thoughts grow limbs
and crawl across the room,
whispering things I buried
but never forgot.

People ask,
“Why don’t you cry?”
But tears aren’t the only proof of pain.
Some wounds don’t bleed—
they echo.
Soft. Constant.
Like a heartbeat
you wish would stop reminding you
you’re still here.

And I am.
Still here.
Still breathing,
still writing—
trying to turn the ache
into something that understands me back.