Marriage Woes

Silence

By Chrystal Brotherson

Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash

Silence spreads like a frozen screen.

I send texts you don’t answer,

call your name across the emptiness of the new house.

Therapy taught me to reach, to play your favorite games,

but my moves hit walls, my pings vanish unseen.

I try voices — whisper, joke, plead —

each one a pixel crashing against your quiet.

You scroll past me like I’m a notification you’ll never open.

I leave reminders, little digital breadcrumbs,

but they dissolve into your blank blue light.

Night comes

I lie beside a body that is its own firewall,

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and practice futures where we laugh at old memes,

or worse — your silence is complete,

a glacier swallowing the Wi‑Fi between us.

I rehearse the last word I might hear from you,

but the screen stays black.

I understand finally

it is not your ears that have closed,

it is my hope building a wall I cannot breach,

terrified that when the world finally goes quiet,

I will hear only my own heart breaking.

Speak up. 💙🔥

Drop a comment below — let’s talk healing, boundaries, and bossing up. 🔥

Thank you for coming on this healing journey with me — as always, I am still not an AI

Real human with emotions

signature from Canva made by Chrystal — Momma of twins — Thread’s Growth Coach

Chrystal Brotherson

If you’ve ever turned your pain into words, you belong with us. Write for Haven of Voices — a publication for honest, soul-deep storytelling. Your voice is your power. Share it.