The Echo That Lives Inside Me — A Poem on Love, Loneliness & Inner Survival

The boy in the mirror doesn’t smile back.
He looks like me, but feels like someone I’ve buried long ago.

Every morning, I stare at him —
not to admire,
but to check if he’s still standing.

He knows I’ve always been the background
in everyone’s story.

When someone comes close,
they see a spark,
but not the fire that burned everything I once was.

They love the start of me,
but not the middle.
And never stay long enough for the ending.

I have been a temporary emotion for people
who promised permanence.

I’ve watched every “forever”
turn into a season.
And winter?
It’s the only thing that stayed.

No one ever asked how I survived the storms.
They only left when the skies got cloudy.

So now, I don’t expect the rain to stop.
I’ve learned to breathe in the flood.

The boy in the mirror blinks finally,
and whispers —

“You are still here. That counts.”

And somehow,
that is enough for today.

If you’ve ever felt like love leaves too soon,
Or like your story never mattered in someone else’s book —
This is for you.

You don’t need someone to complete you.
You were never broken.

Just unheard.
But not anymore.

— With all my heart,

By:

(For August’s Mirror Theme — “Who Are You in the Mirror?”)

“Some leave with a reason.
Some without a word.
But all leave eventually.
And I stay.
Gathering the pieces they forgot to take with them.”