False Friends Fade.

 “False Friends Fade”

We laughed in borrowed light, Shared secrets like coins tossed in a well— But your echoes never reached the bottom. You clapped for my mask, Not the soul beneath it.

I mistook proximity for care, Mistook your silence for depth. But when storms came, You vanished like chalk in rain.

You liked me best diluted— Softer, smaller, less. And I wore that shrinking cloak Until I couldn’t breathe.

So I left. Not with fury, But with the quiet grace Of someone who finally sees.

Now I walk with fewer shadows, But the light is mine. And the friends I keep Know how to hold truth Without flinching.

The Hollowing.

 **“The Hollowing” **

We built our truths in whispered tones,  

On midnight walks and broken phones.  

You held your heart like sacred glass—  

I never thought you'd let it pass.

But somewhere in the gilded chase,  

You bartered soul for fleeting grace.  

A smile too sharp, a word too slick,  

Integrity undone by tricks.

I watched you paint your name in gold,  

On stories bought, on secrets sold.  

The mirror cracked, the mask grew tight—  

You called it growth. I knew it might.

You once stood tall with quiet fire,  

Now bent beneath a thin desire.  

The compass spun, the needle lied,  

And all the good in you… just died.

Yet still, I mourn—not out of spite,  

But for the friend who chose the night.  

I keep the echo, not the face,  

And walk alone with quiet grace.