That’s All I Need
by Crystal Rains
These lips tremble—better not to move.
Safer closed than risking what they speak.
He will break the thoughts I try to prove.
Hold it close, as secrets one must keep.
He turns his back on words I say.
As though no part of him can feel.
I plead—his steps move further away.
I should expect this, yet I reel.
Sweep up the crumbs—leave no trace.
Silence the music on Spotify.
Stay in the next room, avoid his face.
Still too loud—I apologize.
These green eyes look away, hide their tears.
The gifts he brings, the nights he’s gone—
they’ve watched his anger through the years,
and learned to see what isn’t shown.
My thoughts are those he will not read.
The house is quiet now—that’s all I need.
Crystal Rains writes poetry exploring the hidden tensions and silences of daily life. Her work examines the spaces between what is spoken and what is left unsaid, illuminating resilience, irony, and the strength found in quiet. She has been published in Scarlet Review and the Local Gems poetry anthology Dawn Horizons.