You want to know the man I am?
You've seen me from a distance,
though I've made me look alive.
My inner me doesn't exist.
I may smile and hold your hands,
but I alone know that I am
too broken for another day,
too broken for a friendly hug.
My soul's a trap; a dangerous cave.
Not a place you'd want to be.
Perhaps you ask how I still smile,
you did think my heart is whole.
Perhaps I wrapped it carefully, and hid it underneath.
Or perhaps... it's the mask I wear.
Sometimes so, I'm told, "You're cold and unsteady"
I just give a dry smile, for my soul has been buried.
And when you hear my laughter, it's simply how I've learnt to live,
"When the mask is good, the body stays strong".

© eberehh