No One Noticed I Was the One on Fire

“Sometimes we are so busy being there for others, we forget to be there for ourselves.” — L.R. Knost

I built my strength in emergencies
that never belonged to me.

Ran into flames
just to outrun my own smoke.

Held bandages with blood
still dripping from my own hands.
Said I was fine
because they needed me to be
and I liked being needed.

Didn’t notice the silence
until it stretched across three months
and no one asked why I got quiet.
Or when I last slept.
Or if I ever wanted to stop holding the weight.

They said I was dependable.
I translated that as: disposable.

And kept going
until I couldn’t lift myself
out of the wreckage I kept calling a role.

“People who were never rescued often become the best rescuers. But even heroes collapse when no one checks if they’re breathing.”

There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from being seen as reliable. Not because it’s a burden to show up but because it’s a risk to stop. When no one remembers you were once the child who needed rescuing, your strength becomes your prison. You learn to respond to crisis like it’s a reflex, not a choice.

People who were n…