SEEN You say you didn’t see me— but I was right there. Ch0king on silence, Swallowing pool water, arms outstretched like I still believed someone would save me. Twelve girls laughed. You weren’t one of them— but you didn’t stop them either. You stood at the edge, close enough to care, far enough to choose not to. I helped myself Pulled myself Out of the pool with lungs full of betrayal and the taste of red popsicles on my tongue melting too fast. And you— you made it about the flavor. Not the f!ght. Not the fear. Not the way I clawed for air like the world owed me one more breath. You made it a punchline. A “huh, weird.” A “meh” pretending not to see how cruel it is to let someone dr0wn just because you didn’t push them in. And later— when I asked you to walk beside me, you said no. But I saw you anyway. Walking with someone else in the same sand I wanted to share. You never got wet. You just watched. And that’s the thing about dr0wning— you don’t forget who stayed dry.
