The Sharpest Knife

By Aanya Sen Gupta

the knife cut
deepest
not like the one you see
coming
it's the one held
by the hands you once held
in trust.
in silence
in sleep.

they said bestie
like it was a shield
but forgot
even shields have blades
on the other side.

i laughed with them
told them my dreams
my firsts
my insecurities
the way my voice shakes when i cry
the way my heart broke over things i never confessed
they knew it all
they knew me

so when they turned around
twisted words like twisted wires
burned my name behind curtains
left my trust bleeding on cold floors
tell me
how do you stitch a wound
you didn't deserve?

it's funny
how strangers hurt less
than someone
who once called you
home.