Second Place Soul

Am I allowed to...

"What about their needs first?"

Maybe we could...

"Have you considered what he'd prefer?"

"Let's make sure she's comfortable."

"We should cook his favourite meal."

"Remember to think of everyone else!"

These echoes haunt a soul who...

Mends others' broken hearts,

While her own silently bleeds.

Plans everyone's celebrations,

Forgetting her own milestones.

Listens for hours on end,

But speaks to empty rooms.

She's the...

Shoulder to cry on,

Even when her tears are falling.

The peacemaker,

In a war against herself.

The glue holding others together,

As she slowly comes undone.

Always...

LAST

On her own list.

An afterthought

In the stories of her life.

No more will I be

The forgotten verse

In someone else's song.

I yearn to be INVISIBLE.

To vanish completely.

So I can finally understand

How does it feel to put

Myself

First.

To be...

Unapologetically present.

Blissfully ignorant.

Of the weight of others' worlds.

For being eternally second-best

In the lives I've touched

Has left me

Hollow.

Drained.

A ghost of who I could have been.

I reject this role.

This burden.

This thankless existence.

Let me fade to

NOTHING

For even that void

Holds more promise

Then a life lived

Always in second place.