Stolen Youth

Dear Diary, the pain won’t fade,

A shattered soul, a heart betrayed.

The past still lingers, darkly laid,

In silent screams I once obeyed.

They took my light, my voice, my grace,

Left me trapped in time and space.

A ghost who longs for love’s embrace,

Yet wears the scars they can’t erase.

The child I was, so bright, so free,

Now locked inside, she pleads with me.

To break these chains, to let her be,

To fight, to heal, to truly see.

The nights are cold, the days feel long,

A hollow tune, a wordless song.

Yet still, I know that I am strong,

That I’ve belonged here all along.

I am more than what they stole,

Not just the wounds that took their toll.

I’ll rise again, regain control,

And piece together what was whole.

They stole my body, stole my name,

Tried to drown me deep in shame.

But through the fire, through the flame,

I stand unbowed—I’m not the same.

I don’t owe them what they demand,

Not my heart, nor voice, nor hand.

Like raging tides upon the sand,

I’ll rise again, take back my stand.