Red Flags
They don’t arrive with sirens loud,
No thunderclap or warning signs.
Just whispers wrapped in silken thread,
A glance, a word, a path misled.
They laugh too sharp, or love too fast,
Their stories change, their tempers blast.
A backhanded praise,then a shift in tone,
At night, you feel so all alone.
The silence when they should defend,
Excuses that just never end.
They cage your wings and call it care,
Control disguised as love laid bare.
They tell you you’re too much, too deep,
They haunt the edges of your sleep.
You dim your light to keep them calm,
Mistaking poison for a balm.
But red is not just a warning hue,
It’s courage when you see right through.
To spot the signs, to choose to flee,
To save the soul they hoped to seize.
So raise your voice, unclip your chains,
Walk boldly through the growing pains.
Red flags don’t mean you have to stay
They’re signals shouting “walk away.“