Keeping Secrets
The Mask is Fragile
We keep secrets
from others,
and from ourselves.
We bury flaws and failures,
our weaknesses, our regrets,
tucking them deep inside,
as if depth could make them disappear.
But every imperfection
lives just beneath the surface,
held in place by pretending.
That mask is a thin lie,
clear enough to see through,
fragile enough to break.
It holds the light just long enough
for cracks to show.
Some press their face to the glass,
counting fractures,
waiting for the moment
the whole thing shatters.
Others never look that hard.
They see an outline,
the warmth,
the life moving underneath.
Our flaws,
like breath on the glass,
proof someone is still inside,
secretly longing for acceptance.
I especially enjoyed the final stanza!
Beautiful.