the words i'll never say

Alana Kirby's poetry took TikTok by storm, reaching millions with her words of comfort and light under the pen name "Alaska Lane". Here she shares some of her most popular works in print alongside never before seen poems. Let her unspoken words carry you on a journey through the darkest nights of the soul and into the hope of the dawn:

at the very root of it all, the truth is that

i didn't know how to accept myself. i was never taught how to.

i always felt painfully misunderstood

like a star that accidentally fell to earth.

labelled a mistake and torn apart until i had nothing left.

i lost myself in a war i unwillingly fought against the world.

there was nothing i could've done to make it okay

or convince her there was a light waiting for her at the end of her pain.

but although she's gone, although she can't read this,

i tried to honor her memory through writing down what i had left of her.

i made these pages into a place for her soul to rest.

and i told the world all the things she wasn't able to convey.

on her behalf, these are the words i'll never say.