Ragtag Daily Prompt 09.01.2026

Exist

When I was young,
to exist meant to be quiet enough
to be allowed.
It meant fitting, pleasing, surviving.
Taking up as little space as possible
so no one would erase you on purpose.
Now I know better.
To exist is not passive.
It is an act of resistance.
It is breath taken despite pressure,
truth spoken despite consequence.
Existence is memory refusing deletion.
Names that stay spoken.
Stories that won’t lie down.
I no longer confuse existence with permission.
I exist because I am here,
because I remember,
because I witness.
To exist now
is to stand in the light
and say:
I was here. This mattered. We mattered.
And I will not be made smaller
for surviving loudly.

💫Maggie

The Afterlove Voice 💫