Need It More Poem by Lacie Hebert

At first it was simple, at first it was light,
just messages stretching into the night.
Then silence started feeling too loud,
like I was lost inside a crowd.

I didn't notice the shift in my mind,
how I was already falling behind.
Not of you—but of myself,
like I was shelving my mental health.

I started waiting for every reply,
reading meaning into "hey" or "hi."
And every pause started to sting,
like absence was a physical thing.

You didn't even have to try—
I was already too far gone inside.
And I told myself I could still be free,
while needing you constantly.