You Never Asked

I was the quiet one at the table

Fork in my hand

Words in my throat

You filled up every space with your stories

Left my pages

Blank

Unread notes

You brag to friends

How well you know me

List off my grades

And favorite shows

But you never saw the way my hands were shaking

When you said

"I know you"

Like it was true

You say you know me

But you never asked

Never sat in the silence

Just to hear me back

I'm more than the child

You draw in your mind

You love who you think I am

Not what you’d find

If you asked

If you asked

You call me shy

Like it's my whole story

Like quiet means

Nothing inside

You never knew the worlds I built in journals

Names in the margins

Dreams I would hide

You talk for me

When the room gets crowded

Answer for questions

Meant for my heart

How can you claim every part of my person

When you skipped chapters

Right from the start

Do you know my favorite fear?

The one that keeps me up at night

That you’ll never see me clearly

Standing right in your line of sight

Do you know what makes me angry?

What I’d change if I had the chance?

You know my birthday

Not my boundaries

My report cards

Not my plans