shards of me
a poem about breaking and rebuilding

to break bad
or to break even—
i have fragmented myself
all the same.
the pieces of me that once connected
are broken, and i can’t find myself
in their reflections anymore.
when i was together, and whole,
was i truly able to see myself
from the other side?
or was i an amalgamation of what
i wanted others to see in me?
to break clean
is not something i could have done
breaking is messy
and hard and painful and sharp
and the pieces of me jab and hurt
they are unforgiving
i am unforgiving
because i didn’t want to break
i wanted peace, even in war
i wanted comfort, even in a lie
i wanted a home in others
instead of within myself
the easy way out
is the only way in
and the only way i’d ever known
but i lost it
and now i stand
with shards of myself in my hands
my delusion cutting into my fingers
my past slicing into my skin
and i let it
i let myself bleed
and i feed the earth
with the power of my shattered soul
and i am lost and alone
yet intent to find
rather than to be found
About the Creator
angela hepworth
Hello! I’m Angela and I enjoy writing fiction, poetry, reviews, and more. I delve into the dark, the sad, the silly, the sexy, and the stupid. Come check me out!
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Comments (9)
Wow, such a powerful realization. Your words express the strong emotions, which made it much more relatable. Excellent.
I like the way you go through painful events but try in every way to overcome them, I see a lot of acceptance and self-understanding in your verses, but never resignation
I feel the brokenness here, and the imagery is powerful. Those shards do come together though, and make a whole.
My goodness, I am nothing short of speechless. I might be nearly insane or I’m right there with you… which shows the power of your words and your talent in transferring exactly how you feel through words. I could imagine myself with a stuffy nose crying, giving up surrendering — becoming unforgiving, the audacity to feel this way without a way out of it… Then the imagery of a spirit within, needing a new body somewhere else to call home is just beautiful. Especially when you said ‘in others’ it left me speechless the way the pain kept developing into deeper meanings. ‘The easy way out is the only way in’ gosh!! Okay I’m going to stop typing now 🙈 ♥️👌🏽👏🏽
This is such an emotional and relatable stream of consciousness, Angela. Wonderful poem!
This was so intense and poignant. I especially loved these lines: my delusion cutting into my fingers my past slicing into my skin
Love this! The inspiration comes through strongly at the finish. Great work! 💚
I loved this.. Great inspiration for not giving up.
I loved reading this poem well done