How Many Pieces
Integrity isn't noble.
It's the ache that starts
the moment you stay silent
and doesn't shut up
even when you do.
You don't lose it in one act.
It frays... thread by thread.....
each time you nod when you mean no,
each time you laugh to stay safe.
It never screams.
It just stops showing up
in your own reflection.
A promotion.
An easier night's sleep.
A seat at the table where
your spine won't fit.
your spine won't fit.
They say everyone has a price.
But no one talks about
the currency of self-betrayal,
So count it.
Not in coins.
In the moments you swallowed
what should have burned through the room.
How many pieces of silver
did it take
to stop recognising your own voice?