Can you see me? Locked up in here

Behind false smiles and superficial

Replies that helps form the mortar

That binds my true self, a kind of

Foundation I hide behind, built with

Exquisite care while my back was

Turned, face in shadow, to wipe

Away unseen tears as they fell

Like silent echoes in a forest

Where nothing ever grew.

Can you find me? I am the quiet one

At the edges of things, preoccupied

And clumsy in crowded rooms, no

Eye contact allowed lest you see

A crack in this wall, a means to pierce

My defensives with the blunt end of a

Friendly hello, yes my wind is up and

I know you’d smite me if you could with

Chemical warfare, the faint scent of your

Perfume invading my senses until I am lost

Forever

And exposed

Once more…

END