Pretend

Come now, girl, and tell me
Why do you never cry?
Why do you never feel in your heart
What you show on the outside?
You smile more often than you feel happy
You laugh more often than not
Why doesn’t anyone question your sanity?
If only they could see what you really thought
Why do you flash your teeth to please them?
Why do your eyes crinkle when you’re placed on a shelf?
Why do you live your life in boxes
Hearing them more than you hear yourself?
You see your life crumble before your eyes
And yet no one can see your grief
Why do you always drown yourself
And allow everyone else to breathe?
No one seems to look past your walls
No one seems to search for the heart
Why do none look hard enough
To witness as you break apart?
You perform for all people every day
They stand and enjoy the show
They watch, oblivious to the work that it takes
What happens backstage, they don’t care to know
They cannot feel how your knees buckle
Or how your heart constricts in your chest
They cannot see how the light in your eyes
Has finally been put down to rest
You truly are amazing, girl
How do you manage to stay so strong?
You stand with a smile that never falters
No other could ever last this long
They all see the world in vibrant color
While you only see black and white
Do you wonder what things look like in the day
Instead of the constant darkness of night?
No one notices while you fade away
While you suffer, nobody cares
Why is no one here to see
The burden that this little girl bears?
One day this pain and grief will end
One day you will leave the lonely path
Sometimes your existence has to be cut short
In order for the world to feel your wrath
Crumbling to dust on the inside
While pretending to stand tall
Congratulations, little girl
You’ve done it, you’ve fooled them all

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