When your gaze found mine, the whole world swayed, As if the earth had missed a hidden beat; The sunlight suddenly grew unafraid, Then melted like warm gold around my feet. I tried to look away, but something stayed, A trembling little universe in you; My eyes became two doors I could not close, And every secret seemed to wander through. I felt my cheeks turn roses in the rain, A sudden fire underneath my skin; The stars began to whisper my sweet shame, While little suns kept blooming from within. Your eyes were not just eyes, they were a place, A strange blue room where gravity was gone; I wandered through the silence of your gaze And somehow lost the person I was on. My heartbeat stumbled, then forgot its name, It ran barefoot through corridors of light; I blushed as though the moon had called me beautiful, Then hid my face from heaven's watching sight. The trees leaned closer, jealous of the view, The flowers opened wider just to see; Even the wind became unusually shy, As thoug...
Do not mistake my silence
for surrender.
Do not mistake my calm waters
for a shallow shore.
I have mastered the art
of appearing harmless,
of wearing stillness
like a finely tailored cloak.
The innocent face you see
is merely moonlight
resting upon a dark ocean.
Beautiful.
Quiet.
Deceptive.
Beneath it,
ancient currents move.
I have walked through fires
that would have reduced weaker souls
to ashes and forgotten names.
I have swallowed storms
without allowing thunder
to escape my lips.
The darkness taught me
how to survive.
Pain taught me
how to endure.
Betrayal taught me
how to see.
Now I observe
more than I speak.
I listen
more than I reveal.
For there is power
in being underestimated.
People often mistake kindness
for weakness.
Gentleness
for fragility.
Patience
for fear.
How little they know.
The serpent does not announce
the venom in its fangs.
The abyss does not advertise
its depth.
And the deadliest blade
is often hidden
inside the finest sheath.
I carry shadows
where others carry pride.
I carry restraint
where others carry rage.
Not because I cannot destroy,
but because I choose not to.
Yet if pushed far enough,
if cornered long enough,
the darkness I have chained
within the chambers of my soul
will awaken.
And mercy,
once abundant,
will become a stranger.
So judge me by my calm smile.
Believe I am harmless.
Believe I am innocent.
Many have made
that beautiful mistake.
Until they discovered
that beneath the quiet surface
of a wounded soul
lies something far more dangerous
than anger,
a spirit that has survived hell
and no longer fears it.
© 2026 Gloria Penelope
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