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Don’t be Fooled by Me
Don't be fooled by the face I wear
For I wear a mask. I wear a thousand masks.
Masks that I'm afraid to take off.
And none of them are me.
Pretending is an art that's second nature with me;
But don't be fooled, for God's sake don't be fooled!
I give you the impression that I'm secure.
That confidence is my name and coolness my game.
That the water's calm and I'm in command.
And that I need no one.
But don't believe me.
My surface may seem smooth, but my surface is my mask.
My ever-varying and ever-concealing mask.
Beneath lies no smugness, no complacence.
Beneath dwells the real me, in confusion, in fear, in aloneness.
But I hide this.
I panic at the thought of my weakness and fear being exposed.
That's why I frantically create a mask to hide behind.
A nonchalant, sophisticated facade to help me pretend.
To shield me from the glance that knows.
But such a glance is precisely my salvation.
That is, if it's followed by acceptance.
If it's followed by love.
It's the only thing that can liberate me from myself.
From my own self-built prison walls.
From the barriers that I so painstakingly erect.
It's the only thing that will assure me of what I can't assure myself...
That I'm really worth something...
I fight against the very thing I cry out for.
But I am told that love is stronger than strong walls,
And in this lies my hope,
My only hope.
Please try to beat down those walls with firm hands.
But with gentle hands - for a child is very sensitive.
Who am I, you may wonder?
I'm someone you know very well...
For I am every man or woman you meet.
- Author unknown (excerpted)
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