Come Behind the Curtain
Location
Pay no attention to the woman behind the curtain
She longs to tug on the fabric, to pull it miles away
She hides so that her mold matches that of society
So that she won’t be seen for her flaws and mistakes
Because flaws build their own curtain
They hide, shyly, to make up for their ugliness
But inside we see no flaws, we see no mistakes
We hide behind the fabric that lets no light shine
The fabric that lets no truth be told
If my soul could speak to yours, and yours to mine;
Would we be so afraid of ourselves anymore?
Why do I hide my intelligence, my humor?
To dull myself to the alabaster hue of fear
The fear of love, art, and expression
I am only as tall as the curtain I hide behind
But come behind the curtain with me
See my fear of losing my mother
In the same way I lost my father
All those years ago
Come behind the curtain with me
See how illness keeps me in bed
Like any other human being
We suffer, we fear, we try and fail
But I am still human
I must learn today to push my curtain
Which weighs 1,000 pounds
Full of the pieces of myself that I’ve hidden
Like a dusty old puzzle
Abandoned by a nursery child