{"id":3263,"date":"2025-04-28T10:21:51","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T10:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/?p=3263"},"modified":"2025-04-28T10:21:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T10:21:53","slug":"they-broke-you-to-make-themselves-feel-better-never-forget-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/they-broke-you-to-make-themselves-feel-better-never-forget-that\/","title":{"rendered":"They Broke You to Make Themselves Feel Better \u2014 Never Forget That."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Never forget&#8230;<br>how they made you shrink,<br>just so someone else could stand taller.<br>You smiled through it,<br>because you didn\u2019t want to cause problems.<br>You stayed quiet,<br>because you thought maybe it was all in your head.<br>But it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Never forget&#8230;<br>how they laughed a little louder when you messed up,<br>just to make someone else feel better.<br>How they turned their backs when you needed a voice.<br>You kept hoping they would change,<br>yet they kept showing you who they really were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even when you gave them every reason to believe in you,<br>they found every excuse to doubt you.<br>Even when you showed up,<br>even when you stayed loyal,<br>still it was never enough for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Never forget&#8230;<br>how they made you question your own worth,<br>not because you weren\u2019t enough,<br>but because making you feel small made them feel important.<br>And they needed that more than they needed your friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They told you it was &#8220;just jokes,&#8221;<br>but you still cried alone after.<br>They told you to &#8220;get over it,&#8221;<br>yet they never once apologized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And you&#8230;<br>you sat there swallowing your pain,<br>wearing a brave face,<br>pretending like it didn\u2019t hurt,<br>even though it did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Never forget&#8230;<br>because if you forget, you\u2019ll let them do it again.<br>You\u2019ll lower yourself again,<br>you\u2019ll explain yourself again<br>to people who were never listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You defended them in rooms where they wouldn\u2019t even say your name.<br>You stood up for them when your knees were shaking.<br>Still, when it was your turn to be defended,<br>they sat silent.<br>They looked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So yes, forgive.<br>But don\u2019t you ever forget.<br>Don\u2019t you ever forget how they made you feel,<br>alone, small, invisible,<br>just to make someone else feel comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not so you can stay bitter,<br>no.<br>But so you can stay wise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember how it felt,<br>so next time, you protect your peace early.<br>So next time, you walk away before the second betrayal.<br>So next time, you don\u2019t lose yourself just to keep fake people happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They made you doubt your voice,<br>but now you speak louder.<br>They made you question your place,<br>but now you create your own space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And when you rise because you will,<br>rise higher,<br>rise stronger,<br>rise freer,<br>not to prove anything to them,<br>but to honor the battles you fought silently when no one was watching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Never forget&#8230;<br>but never stop moving forward.<br>Never forget&#8230;<br>but never stop loving yourself harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And when you finally get there,<br>where peace feels natural,<br>where love feels safe,<br>smile to yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because you survived the rooms<br>you were never meant to stay in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Never forget.<br>But move anyway.<br>Grow anyway.<br>Win anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@walkingshadowpoetry\">Walking Shadow Poetry Kenya (@walkingshadowpoetry) | TikTok<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/you-are-still-worthy-of-love\/\">You are still worthy of love by walking shadow poetry<\/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=\"YOU DONT HAVE TO DRINK THE WHOLE OCEAN TO REALIZE IT IS SALTY BY @WalkingShadowPoetryKenya\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ILZYkmhCXwE?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>Never forget&#8230;how they made you shrink,just so someone else could stand taller.You smiled through it,because you didn\u2019t want to cause problems.You stayed quiet,because you thought maybe it was all in your head.But it wasn\u2019t. Never forget&#8230;how they laughed a little louder when you messed up,just to make someone else feel better.How they turned their backs [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3264,"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":[34,67,50,61,55,53,22,48],"class_list":["post-3263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poem","category-poetry","category-solitude","category-storytime","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\/DSC_0150-8.jpg?fit=1280%2C1920&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3343,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/they-never-ever-believed-in-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":3263,"position":0},"title":"They never ever believed in Me","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"July 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"They didn\u2019t clap.Not when I tried.Not when I stayed up all night just to prove a point.Not when I kept showing up with a voice no one heard. Instead, they looked away.They shrugged.They asked, \u201cAre you still doing that thing?\u201dlike passion has an expiry date. At first, I thought maybe\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\/07\/LP_-63-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/LP_-63-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/LP_-63-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/LP_-63-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3233,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/no-more-pouring-from-an-empty-cup\/","url_meta":{"origin":3263,"position":1},"title":"No More Pouring from an Empty Cup","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"April 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I used to give.And then I gave some more.Even when my hands trembled,Even when my soul ached. At first, I felt proud,Being the one who showed up,Who answered every late-night call,Who made space for others even when I had none left for myself. But over time, I noticed something.They only\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\/04\/DSC_0149-7.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DSC_0149-7.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DSC_0149-7.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DSC_0149-7.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DSC_0149-7.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3128,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/when-your-time-is-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":3263,"position":2},"title":"When Your Time Is Up","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"March 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s never easy,Never simple,To watch someone else step into the spaceYou once called home. At first, you tell yourself it\u2019s fine,That you\u2019re fine.But truthfully, it\u2019s not that simple.Because when someone else starts doing what you did\u2026But smoother, sharper, better,It cuts deeper than words can ever explain. And somehow,It feels as\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\/d031fd746efd15199366e48bf0c65784.jpg?fit=236%2C413&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2805,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/hold-onto-the-one-who-stayed-poem-by-walking-shadow-poetry\/","url_meta":{"origin":3263,"position":3},"title":"Hold Onto the One Who Stayed Poem by Walking shadow poetry.","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"November 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Let the past stay buried,Leave behind the ones who made you feel small.Don\u2019t look back for those who gave you every reason to crumble,When there\u2019s someone now who lifts you up,Who accepts you, scars and all. Forgive the ones who left,But don\u2019t forget how they let you fall.You reached out,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poem&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poem","link":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/SPOKENWORDSandMODERNDAYPOETRY\/poem\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"grayscale photography of couple walking on ground","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pexels-photo-1077469.jpeg?fit=1200%2C769&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pexels-photo-1077469.jpeg?fit=1200%2C769&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pexels-photo-1077469.jpeg?fit=1200%2C769&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pexels-photo-1077469.jpeg?fit=1200%2C769&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/pexels-photo-1077469.jpeg?fit=1200%2C769&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5502,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/painful-survival-mode-at-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":3263,"position":4},"title":"Painful survival mode at work","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"April 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"We didn\u2019t walk into work,we walked into survival. Every morning felt like signing a quiet agreementthat today, again,we would shrink ourselvesjust to keep a paycheck alive. We found ourselves in placeswhere silence was safer than honesty,where speaking up felt like handing in your own resignation letterbefore you even sat down.\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\/04\/MG_9432-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MG_9432-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MG_9432-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MG_9432-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2991,"url":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/walking-away-by-walking-shadow-poetry\/","url_meta":{"origin":3263,"position":5},"title":"Walking Away by walking shadow poetry","author":"walking shadow poetry kenya","date":"January 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"spoken word. I never thought walking away could feel like thisLike carrying the weight of the world in my chest,Yet leaving with empty hands.It\u2019s funny how you can give so much,Pour yourself out, drop by drop,And still feel like it was never enough. You see, I stayed.I stayed through the\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\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-20-120246.png?fit=441%2C513&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3263","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=3263"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3265,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3263\/revisions\/3265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkingshadowpoetry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}