They say the truth will set you free,
That honesty is light, and lies a prison, you see.
A lie, they say, binds you to endless deceit,
While truth is a simple, unwavering feat.

But I disagree with this easy claim,
For every truth I speak only fans the flame.
It affects my heart, it alters my mind,
And leaves me shattered, broken, confined.

I wish I'd kept quiet, kept it all inside,
But silence, it seems, is the truest lie.
And now, each word I've spoken out loud,
Feels like a storm in a thunderous cloud.

Regret fills the cracks where courage once stood,
I wonder if honesty's truly that good.
Should I have stayed in the shadows of lies,
Rather than expose the truth behind these eyes?

I know, deep down, I shouldn’t drown in the past,
That time moves forward, it never will last.
But how can I move when every step I take,
Feels like the earth beneath me may break?

Every breath I make is laced with unease,
Like an ocean of turmoil I can’t seem to appease.
I just want it all to end, to fade away,
To stop this suffocating pain of every day.

But how can I end it, without causing harm,
Without tearing down those I love, alarmed?
I sit alone in the dark, my thoughts running deep,
Writing my sorrow, as if words could help me sleep.

I hope one day, someone will hear my plea,
Understand my anguish, set me free.
But until then, I’ll keep writing it down,
Hoping the ink will lift me from drowning.