Ghost of my Ego

I never said a word.
Not a flicker of the storm inside me
reached your ears.
You moved as you always do
without malice, without shadow
and still something in me cracked.

It should not have cut.
It never has before.
Your actions simple, harmless,
yet my ego twisted them
into a knife I swallowed whole.

I hate that I let it.
Hate that I sat in silence,
gnawing on a wound
that should never have existed.

You did nothing wrong.
The weakness was mine,
a ghost rising unbidden,
a bruise appearing on a body
I thought was long past bruising.

I don’t even know why it bled this time.
I only know I was angry
not at you,
never at you
but at myself
for letting ego breathe again.

I cannot say why this time was different,
why it pierced where it shouldn’t.
I only know my rage turned inward,
burning hot against the walls of self.

Forgive me, friend, for storms I’ve made
Of simple acts not meant to scar.
I name my ego, let it fade.
I hold no resentment nor could I ever,
I apologize for letting my ego take over.