For Those Who Froze

This is for the ones who went still.

To the ones who turned to quiet when the world grew too sharp to touch and,

to the hearts that learned to beat softly, so no one would hear their fear.

This is for the bodies that mistook stillness for safety, because sometimes it was.

You were not weak,

you were wise.

You slowed yourself to survive the storm,

you hid your light to protect the flame.

And though the world called it retreat, I call it endurance.

Because even frozen, you were alive.

Even motionless,

you were holding on.