Alisha S.'s "Broken." is about girls who look fine while quietly falling apart. The poem opens with the image of a body holding scattered pieces, some buried, some drifting in the ocean, so that wholeness feels out of reach. Everyday details show the cover-up: long sleeves hiding scars, bracelets over bandaids, bright laughter, even fear described as a restraint on the lips. After school, the "last lie" ends the performance, and the girl goes somewhere secluded to sit among falling leaves.
What she feels is hard to name, and that is the point. The pain has no clear reason, only a "black hole" that grew during the day, spreading like untreated cancer. Eventually she screams, hoping someone will hear what she can't say in words. The mood is heavy, lonely and raw, shifting from forced cheerfulness to anguish. The ending is quiet and bleak: her screams fade to whimpers, and the leaves keep falling, as if nobody has noticed at all.