I Lost Me Poem by Janid Kashmiri

I lost me
Somewhere between silent tears and fake smiles
Between "I'm fine" and aching miles
Between holding on and letting go
I buried myself in what you'll never know

I lost me
In dreams I crafted but couldn't achieve
In people I loved who chose to leave
In promises broken, in words unsaid
In the echo of hope that quietly fled

I lost me
While being strong when I was weak
While hiding pain I couldn't speak
While being the sun in someone's night
I forgot I too deserved the light

I lost me
To fears I fed and lies I wore
To battles fought behind closed doors
To the mirror that stopped reflecting me
And showed a stranger, silently

I lost me
But maybe, just maybe
One day in sujood, in a tearful plea
In the noor of truth, I'll find me
The real me who was meant to be