Poem- I Wear a Mask

 

I Wear A Mask

 

By: Christine Smith (McFarlane)

 

I wear

a mask 

 

You may not believe

it

 

But sometimes when 

you see me laughing

or 

see me smiling

and deep in thought

 things aren't always

what they seem

 But I'm practiced

at making things

look like they're ok

on the outside

when they're really not

It's the tricks

I've learned

over the years

I think they came

with this mask

When I first picked it up

No one knows

the loneliness

I feel at night

Or the sadness

that overwhelms my very soul

when the tears 

come

from out of nowhere

and I sit

writing

to try and make sense

Of 

why I feel 

the way

 I do

When things on the surface

seem to be going so well

I wear a mask 

You may not believe it

But behind it

lays something

called

 depression

And I've learned

that it can either kill me

or make me stronger

I've chosen 

the latter

Because deep down inside

I know

I am stronger

than the depression itself

2013