Nobody sees the shaking hands
behind the polished movements.

Before I learned how to carry attention,
it carried me,
and arrival never felt like applause
it felt like exhaling.

The faster I moved,
the less people noticed the weight.

Until I was under the lights.

And just like steel,
I had to remember the fire that shaped me.

The brighter the lights got,
the more hidden contours began to announce
themselves.

But some only admire what the light touches,
never what gives it shape.

I learned quickly
that royalty could exist beneath flickering bulbs,
and the surface may look different
when the city reflects itself.

I recognised myself
in the surfaces that changed with the light.

I spent years trying to blend in,
only to become impossible to ignore.

Because what the light revealed
had been waiting beneath the surface
all along.

Kojey Radical