Look at me.
What do you see?
Are you certain it’s me?
Or what I pretend to be?

You don’t know do you?
What I say and what I do
Therein lies the clue
Do words and action match
Or are they askew?

Pull enough layers off
Throw them away like old cloth
Masks and faces and deceptive thoughts
Underneath the hardness is a heart that’s soft.

Will I let you see it?
How close will you get?
Do I strip the layers and expose it?
Or find another mask to fit?

I need to blow the protective fuse.
Continuing to cover is no use.
It’s time to get honest.
I need you to see truth.

Hanging on by the skin of my teeth.
My knuckles are white
My nails begin to bleed.
Desperate for health and wholeness
But terrified of what lies beneath.