The way you capture the somatic truth of trauma — how the body flinches long before the mind can translate the why is something most people feel but never speak.
Your line “Sometimes it looks like a smile… sometimes it sounds like ‘Sorry, I’m just not a hugger’” hit hard. That’s the part no one sees, the part survivors are expected to swallow so no one else has to sit with the discomfort of what actually happened.
Thank you for naming it with this much clarity, craft, and compassion.
Pieces like this don’t just resonate they give language to people who’ve been carrying the unsaid for years.
Thank you. This is one I think I needed to write, a dissection on what I was feeling and why. I would never admit or talk about this in the real world. However, The Cage, Canary Vale, exists for that reason. Getting comments that let me know these words are seen or felt, I think that could be important for me as well. I appreciate it. Truly. 🪶
I felt every word of this piece, and I’m glad you gave yourself the space to write it. Sometimes the things we can’t say in our real lives come out here in a way that’s honest, raw, and necessary. Your writing makes people feel less alone. I’m grateful you let us into that inner world.
I am so, so sorry you were forced to endure what you have.
Still catch myself flinching (but not as often as I used to) when someone moves too quickly towards me. Ooof I get it.
Oh man 😕
Yeah, was a DV situation. First cut is the deepest
Wtf is wrong with so many people. 😟💛
Hurt people hurt people. It's cliché but knowing her backstory, it was bound to happen. I just ignored the signs cause first love.
This resonated deeply.
😞 sorry
It is alright life happens, we live, we love, we learn. Your poem is lovely.
This is extraordinary, Canary.
The way you capture the somatic truth of trauma — how the body flinches long before the mind can translate the why is something most people feel but never speak.
Your line “Sometimes it looks like a smile… sometimes it sounds like ‘Sorry, I’m just not a hugger’” hit hard. That’s the part no one sees, the part survivors are expected to swallow so no one else has to sit with the discomfort of what actually happened.
Thank you for naming it with this much clarity, craft, and compassion.
Pieces like this don’t just resonate they give language to people who’ve been carrying the unsaid for years.
Thank you. This is one I think I needed to write, a dissection on what I was feeling and why. I would never admit or talk about this in the real world. However, The Cage, Canary Vale, exists for that reason. Getting comments that let me know these words are seen or felt, I think that could be important for me as well. I appreciate it. Truly. 🪶
I felt every word of this piece, and I’m glad you gave yourself the space to write it. Sometimes the things we can’t say in our real lives come out here in a way that’s honest, raw, and necessary. Your writing makes people feel less alone. I’m grateful you let us into that inner world.