Silence Is My Solitude
On the quiet that gets mistaken for sadness — and the small peace of being misread on purpose.
People worry when you go quiet. Sometimes they should. Sometimes they shouldn’t. This is for the times they shouldn’t.
Just because I’m silent
Doesn’t mean I’m sad
Sometimes I take a moment
To remember what I’ve had
Where I’ve been, how I got here
What I’ve seen, things I’ve heard
What’s been far, what’s been near
I have much to learn
That much is clear
Silence is my solitude
At peace, without fear
There’s a kind of silence that’s just processing. Not depression, not distance — just the mind doing its quiet inventory of the year so far. You don’t always need to be saying something for something to be happening.
If someone you care about goes quiet for a while, ask once. If they say they’re okay, believe them. The processing is the work.
— JTC