The Quiet Between Poem by Natasa To

The Quiet Between

I learned the shape of silence
by sleeping beside it every night,
listening to the walls breathe softly
while the world moved on outside.

There are voices in the distance,
laughter beneath golden skies,
but loneliness has its own language—
it speaks through unanswered goodbyes.

I carry conversations
with people who aren't there,
rehearsing all the words I swallowed,
all the feelings I couldn't share.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm missing
or simply hard to find,
a shadow passing through crowded rooms,
leaving no trace behind.

And still, beneath this aching quiet,
a small heart refuses to cease—
waiting for a hand to reach it,
waiting to remember peace.

So I sit with the darkness,
though it hurts more than I show,
and whisper into the empty night:
Maybe someday, I won't be alone.