I hide in my sanctuary of shadows,
and yet… I still feel like I don’t fully belong.

I’m scared—
because even this world that knows me could one day turn away.
Push me out into a place
where I feel like an endangered creation,
a world where I am unseen,
unnoticed,
invisible.

I try to escape my past,
but it always finds a way
to crawl into the deepest wounds of my soul.

I ask myself why.
Why life feels unfair.
Why it feels so heavy.

And life drags me back,
reminding me of moments
that whispered my existence was never meant to be.

Still—
I keep moving.

Not because I am fearless,
but because something inside me
refuses to stop.

I once believed experience would make me stronger.
I was naïve…
but maybe not entirely wrong.

Because even now,
with all the weight I carry,
I am still here.
Still imagining.
Still surviving.

And though life is not what I thought it would be—
though it is a quest favoring the strong,
a test that seems endless—
I do not beg for escape anymore.

I only ask for patience.
For growth.
For one quiet corner
in my sanctuary of shadows,
where I can stand, breathe, and learn
how to face the rest of the world.

Oh sanctuary of shadows—
don’t hide me forever.
Just hold me long enough
for me to grow into
someone who can finally face the light.