I Hide

I hide, I hide behind my cloths.

I hide behind the matte mask we call make up.

I hide the red vines that wrap around my body like sea weed in the ocean an ugly under layer.

I hide the tears that sting my skin like poison.

I hide because anything raw is seen as a broken winged bird.

I hide because society has reminded me everyday that I am just a number, a statistic, an example of the oppressed.

I hide, I hide, oh how I hide, I hide because the venomous truth running through my brain isn't considered normal.

I hide because my kindness is seen as a welcome matt for their shoes to walk so heavily on.

I hide because the pain in my chest is too heavy for my family to carry.

I hide because my smile and 3.6 GPA seems to be just enough for those around me.

I hide because society is deaf, mute, and blind. With shut eyes, taped mouth's, and hand's over ear's. Refusing to hear the loud cries of the hopeless or see the pain behind a teenager who's "got it easy".

No they don't worry or voice concern because my kind are considered stable, bright, and worthy do to the test we take and the grades we display.

I hide because the art i would like drawn on myself to celebrate my recovery and strength through this struggle we call life is considered cheap and tacky.

I hide because society is so scared of self expression that they judge your shell and not the words that pass through your mind and seep out your mouth.

I hide because ignorance is valued more than truth and "getting laid" is the new love.

I hide because I was once vulnerable and life's fist crashed down on me smashing my innocence at the ripe age of six.

I hide because if I were to show the true me I would be powerless. My fears, my pain , my love all exposed for people to see. To take. Because my armor is safer than my skin.

I stay hidden because societies standards and beliefs are unworthy of seeing the weathered and tethered, worn and torn, bent and beaten, hanging on by a string, cracked and crushed, but not broken ME.