By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~~

Its a masquerade,

Decorated in random shades of color,

All to hide the true self from you.

~

I am ashamed of the real me,

For what reason I do not know,

Afraid I might be thought less of.

~

Oh the pure foolishness,

A game played solely in my mind,

Grounded in a child’s fantasy.

~

The excruciating pain of insecurity,

Every face a mirrored distortion of me,

Laughing, whispering, looking away.

~

They avert their eyes,

As if glimpsing some hideous monster,

There’s nowhere to hide.

~

What a horrible delusion,

I fabricate my own nightmares,

Without the comfort of slumber.

~

Travails have haunted me,

Ripping confidence asunder,

Though time after time I’ve overcome.

~

So ingrained is this sense of doubt,

It is woven into my being,

Like an old friend I could scarcely do without.

~

Still each new day is a struggle,

A torment to beat back,

Another chance for me to rise above myself.

Image: Standford University