The Self-Made Curse

One must not judge what can’t be seen
In eyes so cold and mind so keen;
Hidden under could lie a gentle tide
Kept at bay with every stride;
Perhaps it’s fear of the world around,
That inner darkness outward bound,
Of all the evils that have past,
Perhaps that’s why he wears this mask.
For a mask it is, to hide his soul
From the dark creatures with eyes of coal,
From those who say yet never mean
To eyes so sad and a mind not seen.
Those sad eyes which glisten through the dark,
Though only just the smallest spark,
Show a barely trodden, lonely path
Standing barren in the aftermath
Of the gentle tide, which kept at bay
Only grew stronger day by day;
The unseen currents picking up speed
While it pushed and begged to just be freed.
When finally it broke its chains
He kept on walking through the pains
That wretched his soul and hurt his heart,
The faint glimmer in the frozen dark.
Why fight so hard against one’s self?
Don’t put the feelings on a shelf.
It matters not what other’s say,
Or what they do when you’re away.
If you hold them in it just gets worse,
A painful plague, a self-made curse.
Know when to show and when to hide
What you truly feel inside.
His head up high he marches on
And slowly reaches for the mask he dons;
He takes it off and the darkness melts:
How good it is to be one’s self.

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