«I cut my wrists again.» — Summary

I cut my wrists again. I bruised my thighs. I pulled my hair. I attempted suicide. I slept all day to keep the pain away. And pretended I was fine. But all you ever heard was Im tired.

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The poem is a list of self-harm and suffering, set against how little other people notice. The speaker lists what they have done to themselves: cutting, bruising, pulling hair, a suicide attempt. Each line is short and flat, with no explanation or decoration. That plainness makes it hit hard. The speaker seems too worn down to dress any of it up.

The turn comes at the end. Sleeping all day, pretending to be fine, and then the last line, "all you ever heard was Im tired." The missing apostrophe in "Im" makes the phrase feel quick and careless, like something said just to end the conversation. The gap between everything the speaker has been through and the small excuse others hear is the heart of the poem.

The mood is bleak, lonely and exhausted. There is also a quiet ache in it: the speaker hides their pain, yet the poem suggests a wish to have been seen. If you or someone you know is struggling like this, talking to a trusted person or a crisis line can help.

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