{"id":3190,"date":"2025-04-07T11:37:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T11:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/?p=3190"},"modified":"2025-04-07T11:37:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T11:37:15","slug":"when-youre-just-a-bridge-they-cross-on-their-way-to-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/when-youre-just-a-bridge-they-cross-on-their-way-to-joy\/","title":{"rendered":"When You\u2019re Just a Bridge They Cross on Their Way to Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We meet people.<br>Not just any people,<br>but the kind that walk in silently<br>carrying storms behind their eyes,<br>the kind that smile while breaking,<br>laugh while bleeding,<br>pretending they\u2019re fine<br>when everything inside says otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And somehow,<br>we become their calm.<br>We become their shoulder,<br>their listener,<br>their quiet space,<br>their safe place.<br>We become the bridge between pain and peace,<br>the unspoken therapy session<br>in the middle of chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the truth is,<br>we\u2019re not trained for this.<br>We\u2019re not certified to carry hearts in recovery.<br>We\u2019re not licensed to hold broken souls<br>as they unravel themselves at our feet.<br>Yet we do it\u2026<br>because we care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in the process,<br>we don\u2019t just listen.<br>We bond.<br>We hope.<br>We imagine that maybe this time,<br>we\u2019ll be more than a steppingstone,<br>maybe this time,<br>they\u2019ll stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But here\u2019s the bitter part,<br>when they heal,<br>we hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because suddenly,<br>we become reminders of a past<br>they\u2019re desperate to forget.<br>We become the face they saw when they were at their lowest,<br>and now that they\u2019re rising,<br>we don\u2019t fit the picture anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They cut us off.<br>Not out of hate,<br>but out of healing.<br>And we\u2019re left standing in the ruins of connections<br>that only meant everything to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We blame ourselves.<br>We whisper things like,<br>\u201cI should\u2019ve been stronger,\u201d<br>\u201cI shouldn\u2019t have hoped,\u201d<br>\u201cI was just supposed to help, not feel.\u201d<br>But how do you help<br>without your heart getting involved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re doctors who forgot<br>to keep our gloves on.<br>We touched wounds with bare hands,<br>thinking love alone could protect us.<br>We got too close.<br>We stepped into their pain<br>hoping to walk with them into peace.<br>But once they found the light,<br>they left us in the dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now, we question everything.<br>Were we just a channel?<br>A temporary shelter before they found home?<br>A waiting bay before they boarded the flight to freedom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, we are the safe space.<br>The healing ground.<br>The soft place to land before they learn how to fly.<br>And yes,<br>we are the ones they leave behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But still, we keep going.<br>We keep showing up.<br>Because even if they forget us,<br>we were part of their story.<br>Even if they walk away,<br>we helped them stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And even if every goodbye<br>breaks a piece of us,<br>we keep creating hope<br>from our fragments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So maybe one day,<br>someone will come to stay.<br>Someone will see the healer<br>and say,<br>\u201cLet me be your home now.\u201d<br>But until then,<br>we keep holding space,<br>loving quietly,<br>hoping endlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because even though we bleed,<br>we still believe,<br>there is purpose in being the reason<br>someone else could breathe again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/strategic-warfare-conquering-battles-that-silence-the-weak\/\">Strategic Warfare: Conquering Battles That Silence the Weak<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/15TZUgCz5L\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/15TZUgCz5L<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"HEALING POEM | Walking shadow poetry by Precious Owoko | poet| poetess | spoken word\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3FBOFPRRCOI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We meet people.Not just any people,but the kind that walk in silentlycarrying storms behind their eyes,the kind that smile while breaking,laugh while bleeding,pretending they\u2019re finewhen everything inside says otherwise. And somehow,we become their calm.We become their shoulder,their listener,their quiet space,their safe place.We become the bridge between pain and peace,the unspoken therapy sessionin the middle of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,97,25,98],"tags":[35,49,34,67,50,61,55,53,22,48],"class_list":["post-3190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poem","category-poetry","category-solitude","category-storytime","tag-poems","tag-poetess","tag-poetry","tag-preciousowoko","tag-spokenword","tag-spokenwords","tag-stories","tag-story","tag-walkingshadowpoetry","tag-walkingshadowpoetrykenya"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DSC09150-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1439&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2875,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/bridge-of-redemption-by-walking-shadow-poetry\/","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":0},"title":"Bridge of Redemption by walking shadow poetry","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"December 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I walked on roads I shouldn\u2019t have,Left behind hearts torn apart.I carried shame like a heavy stone,A burden that crushed my heart. The bridges I burned stood in ruins,Ashes of trust I betrayed.Each step forward felt like a storm,And my hope began to fade. But then, I met a kind,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"city fashion sunglasses woman","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/pexels-photo-14600239.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/pexels-photo-14600239.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/pexels-photo-14600239.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/pexels-photo-14600239.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3091,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/unlocked-and-unbroken-chains-by-walking-shadow-poetry\/","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":1},"title":"Chasing Likes and Losing Sight by Walking Shadow poetry.","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"March 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In this world where numbers reign,We chase the likes, ignore the pain.Views and shares, they fill our days,Yet deep inside, we\u2019ve lost our ways. We post our wins, we show our best,We hide the times we failed the test.With every click, we seek to prove,Yet in our hearts, we barely\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f0e4c4fad6d2fd61e31c07a9b0f1c8be.jpg?fit=735%2C713&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f0e4c4fad6d2fd61e31c07a9b0f1c8be.jpg?fit=735%2C713&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f0e4c4fad6d2fd61e31c07a9b0f1c8be.jpg?fit=735%2C713&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f0e4c4fad6d2fd61e31c07a9b0f1c8be.jpg?fit=735%2C713&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3116,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/its-strange-really-by-walking-shadow-poetry\/","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":2},"title":"It\u2019s strange, really by Walking Shadow Poetry","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"March 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m scared of being alone,Not the kind where you sit quietly for a while,But the kind that feels like a heavy shadow,Creeping in when no one\u2019s around. It\u2019s strange, really.How silence can feel louder than a crowd,How an empty room can weigh more than a thousand voices. I don\u2019t like\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/b8a993c6ff7165b153294da09686f3b0.jpg?fit=236%2C420&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2236,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/untold-tales\/","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":3},"title":"UNTOLD TALES.","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"June 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In the world of stories, untold and unseen, I bring forth spoken words, in simple language keen. For within these tales, waiting to be heard, Lie the secrets and truths that have been undisturbed. Untold stories, hidden away from the light, Longing to be shared, to take flight. In the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"poems\"","block_context":{"text":"poems","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/WalkingShadowPoetryKenya\/poems\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"woman standing near a castle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/pexels-photo-6022627-1.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/pexels-photo-6022627-1.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/pexels-photo-6022627-1.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/pexels-photo-6022627-1.jpeg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5474,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/no-one-is-to-be-blamed-for-your-healing\/","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":4},"title":"No one is to be blamed for your healing","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"March 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"I once carried many excuses. They felt comfortable. They sounded reasonable. I told myself life would have been different If my parents had done better. I believed my background had already decided my limits. I blamed friends for choices that later became my regrets. Those thoughts stayed with me for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-03-at-12.22.37-AM-3.jpeg?fit=857%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-03-at-12.22.37-AM-3.jpeg?fit=857%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-03-at-12.22.37-AM-3.jpeg?fit=857%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-03-at-12.22.37-AM-3.jpeg?fit=857%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3497,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/let-me-tell-you-the-kind-of-love-i-want\/","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":5},"title":"\u00a0\u201cLet Me Tell You the Kind of Love I Want\u201d","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"January 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Let me tell youthe kind of love I want. Not the loud kind.Not the one that hurts and then apologizes.Not the one that makes me feel like I\u2019m too muchfor asking to be treated gently. I want a patient love.The kind that waits.The kind that doesn\u2019t rush my healingor punish\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/xacEsG4Cyfg\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3190"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3192,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190\/revisions\/3192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}