Tell Them Everything Poem by Vanessa Alvarez

When you're done talking bad, go finish the tale—
Don't leave out the parts where I helped you prevail.
You speak of the fights, the moments we broke,
But skip all the times I lifted your hope.

You paint me in anger, in shadows and blame,
But forget how I showed up when no one else came.
You twist every word, you sharpen the knife,
Yet I gave you my heart, my time, and my life.

So tell them it all — not just what you choose,
Not just the drama, the dirt, and the bruise.
Tell them the kindness, the nights I stood near,
The love that I gave when no one else was here.

You want to look clean, you want to seem right,
But truth isn't told in the absence of light.
So when you retell it, don't edit the view—
Say all that I did, not just what suits you.