KINI

There was a boy who learned early how to be strong.
Not because he wanted to…
but because nobody came when he cried.
He watched others lean on family, friends, luck—
while he leaned on silence.
On prayer whispered at night.
On hope that kept breaking and somehow still breathing.
Every smile he wore was borrowed.
Every laugh was a shield.
People called him “calm,” “patient,” “humble,”
never knowing those words were built from pain.
He tried. God knows he tried.
Worked hard, trusted people, believed tomorrow would be kind.
But tomorrow kept arriving with empty hands.
Sometimes he wondered if life forgot his address.
Yet every morning, he stood up again.
Not because life was good—
but because giving up would hurt the people who already saw him as strong.
And that’s the saddest part:
The strongest ones are often the most tired.
The kindest hearts are usually the most wounded.
And the boy who never complained
was silently begging life to be gentle—just once.