Between Bruises & Blooms

It always began
the same way.

A hello.

A joke.

A memory.

A promise.

Then came
the accusation.

The names.

The blame.

The apology.

The hope.

Then—

another hello.

Round and round
until I could no longer tell

whether I was
walking in circles

or being buried by them.

One day
I stopped waiting
for the apology.

Because I finally realized

peace

doesn’t begin
when someone says

“I’m sorry.”

It begins

when you stop
waiting for them
to mean it.