My Invisible Weights and Mask of Joy

The outside is stable, strong, and resistant.

I wear a mask, which not even I can take off.

A smile that through pain has learned to look real.

And eyes that through tears have learned to fake joy.

I’m so afraid,

I’m so scared.

I’ve gotten so use to having people lean on me,

That I have forgotten how to lean on others.

I learned to cry in silence,

And I’ve learned to stand alone.

I’m so afraid,

I’m so scared.

I must carry an invisible weight on my back,

One that even I have become accustomed to,

And the weight keeps on adding.

I smile because I can, not because I want to.

I’m so afraid,

I’m so scared.

I stand alone because I chose to stand for others.

I shed tears, because others refuse to do so.

And still they call me weak, and fragile.

If you could only see the weight, if you could only see the pain,

Behind this mask I’m forced to wear.