Exposing Crystallum

June 23: Crystallography of Secrets- Create a scientific study of how secrets form different crystal structures based on their nature. Include classification system and growth conditions. Use geological terminology to describe emotional states. Consider how secrets change under pressure. End with breaking open a fully formed secret crystal. - Daily Poetry Writing Prompts 2025

I have seen the way rain hammers down heavy on shoulders that carry the weight of mediating adults as a child

The cracks that deepen, the gaps that widen, the way cries just echo off empty chamber walls

You begin by careful observation,

Learning the cracks in floorboards, the creaks of bed springs, how sound is better than silence because silence means uncertainty

You learn when to keep pretend sleeping, with a knife beneath your mattress, just in case

It makes you feel safer than locked doors and fancy neighborhoods

There are secrets behind each of those doors, including this one

You confuse heated discussion with passion

Yelling with care

Forced contact with affection

You hate the feeling of arms closing in, knowing you never really consented to this, rather 'volun-told'

You grow up hardened.

Unafraid to fight back, yet terrified of being seen, knowing you're never truly seen

That your worth is measured in a funny way, feel like coal, like cracked rose quartz

Where harmony is a myth, and the melody is just internal screaming

It echoes off the insides of my empty chest cavity

Where heart turns to stone and dust and pounding organ simultaneously, consistently

This is no way to grow, yet the perfect way to achieve diamonds

Valued, wanted, placed in pockets of thieves who steal more than just rocks, rather memories and stability

But keep it in too long and it manifests, shatters, scatters all over the floor in shards of blood and razor

It's all about power and control in the end

The longing for freedom, of aquamarine sky, gold silver-lining clouds that burst with abundance

The way water drips down endlessly, creating rivets in my identity, is both healing and transforming

I am shaped by all of my experiences, the thunder and the river

I trace each strike through the still-flowing veins of my exterior and know that leaving was the right choice

The choice that would let me shine,

As I should, as I deserve,

Because I am worthy of more.

~~~

This is the first poem that is part of my weeklong poetry prompt challenge. Who knows if I even followed the prompt. But this definitely cracked out of me.

I will be writing each poem on the correlating day but posting it on the following one. You can read more about these shenanigans below.