They never knew

a Poem by Raquel Swann

I cling to tradition

As a single thread 

To a fifty pound weight

With the slightest movement 

I’ll snap

As the weight crashes 

Against the floor

The sound awakens me

From a coma

My senses have 

Been dulled 

These long years 

Acting as they needed 

Laughing at jokes 

That were never funny

Smiling in faces

Which never cared 

For me, or 

The me they never knew

Nor cared to know.