Don't Look at Me

When I gaze in the mirror,

I cringe and turn away.

Must I look the way I do

Every single day?

I yell too often, speak too loud,

My voice is all too low.

And yet I walk around and smile

A broken heart in tow.

I wish that I could trust someone,

Someone who could ease my pain.

But when I risk, I draw back.

They are less constant than the rain.

I don’t know where I’m going,

Only where I’ve been.

I’ve escaped the fiery furnace,

I’ve survived the lion’s den.

When the tears come

Like soldiers, in a line,

They stab me with their swords of truth.

Their commander’s name is mine.

Looking at the girls around me

There is just too much to bear.

I wonder why, why, why?

Why do I even care?

Why do I hold on desperately

If I know I’m going to fall?

Why try to hold the army in

When I know it’s me they’ll maul?

Someone come and rescue me!

From this dark and dreary place.

But, stranger, do take care

Do not look at my face.