Be Free of Me

We are trapped in a zoo on the verge of life and death.

Vengeful beasts howling for our attention,

Clawing at each other to gain dominance of our thoughts,

Tearing our insides into a bloodthirsty feast for fear and anxiety,

Listen for our screams, hear our pleas, set us free.

Red, crescent scars adorn my arms.

Some draw elaborate red lines crossing every which way.

For some, it's a little puff of smoke or an injection of some kind.

For some, it’s a way to feel alive: dangerous people, glorious fights.

But we all seek the same thing: Freedom

Usually, it's a mental scar we try to erase.

So, we seek other ways to numb the frightening howls.

Maybe it’s a feeling of a haunting loneliness,

Like no one can hear us even when we screech for our lives.

But we all seek the same thing: Freedom.

Sometimes, we fantasize of an everlasting sleep.

No more tears, pain, no more waiting for an ally;

No more sympathetic looks, no more loathing yourself every single day

Because somebody, anybody, never had the courage to whisper over our agony:

“I hear you. I see you. You’re enough. Be free.”

Often times, all we can discern is our own condemnation.

“I can never be enough because I am a disappointment to my family.”

“I can never be enough because I hate what I see in the mirror and the past that taunts me.”

“I can never be enough because no one cares to notice me.”

“I can never be free because I am my own worst enemy.”

I am young, but I have mastered the art of disguise.

But there is more to me than the lies I let you see.

I bury my feelings behind a smile, a grimace you can't detect

I want you to see me, but I don't want to end up as a zombie with pills as my compromise.

So, find me, set me free, because you make the difference between me and mental slavery.