The You That Nobody Taught You

Somewhere under the person
they needed you to be,

under the one who learned
to make themselves smaller
in rooms that felt too big,

under the one who got good
at being whatever the moment required —

there is someone
who never forgot
what they actually liked.

Who still knows
exactly which way to turn their face
toward the light.

Who has been waiting,
without impatience,
for you to come back.

You don't have to hurry.
They're not going anywhere.
They're you.