A face, they see, a smile so wide

A heart, they hear, beats strong inside.

But they do not know, they cannot see,

The troubles and darkness inside of me.

A girl, my age, lives so far away,

I think of her every day and night.

She is the sun, the stars, the moon of my soul.

She is the secret I keep; it takes its toll.

There is darkness inside of me,

It constricts, twists, it won’t let me free.

The weight on my shoulders is too heavy to bear.

It just isn’t fair.

Depression, it hurts, it weighs a girl down.

I stand, look in the mirror, and instantly frown.

I am hurt, pressured, pained inside and out.

Yet I hide behind a smile for the world; they don’t doubt.

The woes of me are plenty,

Some consume me; some leave me empty.

But a curtain, a mask, shrouds my truth from everyone else.

I just wish I could help myself.