I collect stories

from whispered conversations,
comment sections,
and people brave enough
to tell the truth.

I borrow trauma
from words spoken in confidence,
from strangers
and friends.

I translate them
into poems of my own.

Different timelines.
Alternative names.
New beginnings.
Dramatic endings.

I write about things
that never happened
to me.

Still,

my readers search
for a reason
to throw me a lifeline,

as if every voice
on the page

must be my own.