Broken. — Summary

Broken girls, Housed in a broken body their pieces scattered, some buried, some floating in the middle of the ocean, None of them are whole. But you'll never see a single frown, Long sleeved shirts cover up the scars, bracelets hide the bandaids, fear, a tightly knotted restraint on their lips, as good as any mouth guard, Smiles on the outside, bright, tinkling laughs, hide the pain on the inside... When school is over, and the last question answered with the last lie, she walks to her favourite place; Always secluded, she sits on the grass, watches the leaves fall, and lets the tears drop too. There is no specific reason for her tears, but that black hole in her body that she felt grow today she has no reason for the pain, but it is there, building like unattended cancer, eating away at her insides, until she has to let it out, so she screams, blood curdling screams of agony and torment, only a portion of the seemingly never-ending turmoil in her head, she shrieks hoping someone will hear what she cannot say. Her creams eventually die down to whimpers, and the leaves continue to fall.

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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.

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