They see me glide
a shadow of stillness
as if calm lived in my bones.
As if I was built for peace.

But beneath…
my legs are fire
striking against currents that never rest.
Every kick a defiance
every thrash a refusal to sink.

Do not mistake me for effortless.
My silence is not surrender.
It is steel
a will tempered in the undertow
holding shape while the river
tries to tear me apart.

And when the storm passes
when the water stills
no one sees the cost.
No one hears the scream
echoing through my muscles
the quiet collapse of strength
that held me steady while the chaos raged.

I am left with the ache
of being unseen
the pain of bearing storms alone
the hollow isolation
of surviving without witness.

Yet still
I remain afloat
Not because it is easy,
but because I refuse to drown.