Nobody tells you how lonely 18 is

Toka Siyam

Contributor

Nobody tells you how lonely 18 is

You buy your own groceries

You take the long way home because the therapist says walking is good for you

You don’t text your best friend when you cry at night

You stay in and forget what love felt like

You celebrate your birthday in the dark, no cake for you

You pick up your journal and

You try to write about it but the words never find a way

No one tells you, 18 is just picking up the kid you thought you left behind

Because the sounds that scared him are still there

And now, they’re harder to ignore

Because 18 is just lonely

18 is being stuck in a dark corner isolated from everyone you know