I waited when I should have moved.
Sat still, while life kept passing through.
The waves kept calling me to go,
But fear said stay, and so I froze.

I watched the sky, I felt the sea,
But nothing new came back to me.
The world went on, the tide rolled in,
And I just sat, bone, chair, and wind.

Now time has taken all I had,
The dreams, the fire, the good and bad.
I thought that waiting kept me safe,
But silence only leaves a trace.

If you still breathe, if you still feel
Don’t sit too long. Don’t miss what’s real.

— Jennifer Akong