A Silent Shoulder Poem by Anitha Vijayakumar

Sometimes, I say, 'I'll handle it, don't worry.'
Yet a part of me wishes you'd stay,
Not to fix my broken edges,
But just to be here, quietly.

I don't need you to fight my battles,
Or pick up my pieces and mend them.
Just a presence steady, warm
A silent shoulder in the storm.

When the weight feels like it's mine alone,
I crave that gentle reassurance,
The knowing glance, the quiet comfort,
A hand held out in silent endurance.

It's not about help, or saving grace,
Or the illusion that I can't stand tall.
It's the strength of having someone near,
Even when I don't stumble or fall.

So stay close, with no words or demands,
Be the presence I don't always say I need.
For sometimes, it's not in grand gestures,
But in simply being there, that we're freed.