Unmasking the Hidden Self

I could tell you weren't living. Just surviving the day-to-day.

You kept everyone at arm's length. 'Cause let them close, never felt safe.

Cold feet on the shoreline. Pretending the waves don't bite. Head on the

water just long enough to hide what kept you up at night.

You loved the world around you. But never the person you had to be.

The kid in the photographs kept asking questions you couldn't see. They said you

had it easy. Said you never lost your way. But no one saw you staring

at a mirror that never smiled back a day. Diving under felt