And she said
“I’m fine.”
Every time.

But you couldn’t see
Behind the smile
The repeated line

The monster within
Barely contained
A beast of pain

You couldn’t see her eyes
The life extinguished
Dull and dead and broken

She was drowning
While you still breathed
Unconsciously pushing her under

Until the cold hands of depression
Wrapped around her throat
And choked the life out of her
She was no more than a corpse
An empty cavity
Of a defeated life

You were at her funeral
In the very back row
Unable to watch the procession

Head in hands
Tears dripping onto your lap
As you began to see

You saw her
The dull eyes
The fake smile

The disease
The depression
The broken lies

Everything you missed
Rushed in like a wave
And you were drowning.

Later I asked
If you were okay,
“I’m fine,” you replied.

Every time.
?