Don’t Get Me Started

Don’t get me started—
because that’s how it always begins.
A harmless phrase, a half-smile,
and suddenly the thoughts line up,
impatient, knocking to be heard.
Don’t get me started on how often
I move too fast when what I need is slow.
Or how I wait, convinced the right moment
will announce itself—
when it never does.
Don’t get me started on the small griefs,
the quiet ones that don’t ask permission
to stay longer than they should.
The ones that don’t scream,
just hum in the background
until you notice you’re tired.
Don’t get me started on kindness—
how I think I’ve reached my limit
until I don’t.
Until a single human moment
undoes my careful boundaries
and reminds me why I try at all.
Don’t get me started on words,
how some wrap like blankets
and others cut without warning.
How a sentence can steady a soul
or send it spiralling.
But if you do start me—
let it be with joy.
The kind that doesn’t shout.
The kind that grows anyway,
through cracks, through mess, through doubt.
The kind that arrives quietly
and stays.
So yes—
don’t get me started.
Unless you’re ready
to hear the truth.

💫Maggie

The Afterlove Voice 💫