I NEVER BLEED

Who am I, what am I — I owe you no confession.

You bit, I flinched; you played, I screamed;

you roared; I wavered — but never truly fell.

You... who are you?

You, whom I once called my solace,

my harbinger, the very marrow of my existence —

the one I mistook for my identity.

I was unfettered, yet I walked into the silken snare of your affection.

I told you plainly — I am boundless —

and you smiled and said, "So you are free",

Then the clouds grew luminous,

the birdsong turned dulcet beyond what words deserve,

and I began to rest in a quiet haven of my own.

I gave you my soul —

and you shackled it behind the bars of abjection,

without a single flicker of limpidity.

You frayed my trust like old cloth.

You drove a dagger through the heart of my self-worth.

But here — here — you erred.

You struck the wrong nerve.

I gave you everything, everything —

but never my mettle.

You may revere me or revile me,

but let this be the wisdom you carry from me —

I am the woman who carves her own margins,

unbowed, unabashed, and unapologetic.

That is why —

I NEVER BLEED.

Komal Singh is currently pursuing Masters in English (4th Sem) from the University of Lucknow and is a writer by profession