Box Crab :Are you

I do not roar, I do not chase,

I shrink in silence, I leave no trace.

You call it calm, you call it cold,

But this is how my truth unfolds.

I build a shell - not made of steel,

But fears and doubts I never reveal.

This fortress built with fragile thread,

And memories of words unsaid.

You reach for me with fire and fight,

While I retreat from blinding light.

You ask me, “Speak. Just say you care.”

But I am better at just being there.

I hold your world but never show

How deep the tides inside me flow.

A silent battle, fought within,

To let the fragile feelings win.

You burn in words, I drown in thought.

You think I’ve lost you -I have not.

I’m watching storms behind my eyes,

Too slow to chase, too still for cries.

I see the shadow in your eyes,

I know my silence brings you sighs.

I never meant to make you ache,

But love for me is slow to wake.

Not through touch or grand display -

But in the fact I choose to stay.

The grit of silence on my skin,

This heavy quiet, wearing thin.

So judge me not by words I lack,

Nor by how far I hold things back.

I am a crab with heart inside,

That hides not out of shame, but pride.

But if you knock, again, again -

With gentler hands and softened flame,

You just might find me brave enough

To leave the shell and call it love.