You will never embrace this life, unless you embrace yourself first.

Alas! YOU have arrived
To soak up my words
May you drink them in
Delight in them
For they were penned for YOU
I know not your name
Nor will I see your face
But, you were on my mind when I wrote them

I knew you would come one day

And be touched by these few words
Not yesterday, not tomorrow, instead today
How was I to know the time
The timing I leave to you

I am just glad you came

Its never too late to proceed
For the words in my poems
Are meant for just the right moment
Filling a need
Easing some pain
Perhaps they turn your frown upside down

That is why ...

I continue to write

And ...

YOU continue to read

(S)tifled
(E)vasive
(C)onfining
(R)egrets
(E)xhausting
(T)ormente­d
(S)hame

A game of deception and deceit.

An ordinary girl.
Rushes down the hallway.
Invisible, scared, and alone.

Her eyes are cast down.
As she shrinks into the background.
Afraid to be noticed.
Hoping that she can just get through the day.

She has created a barrier around herself to mask the pain.
Poisoned whispers follow her trail.
She puts on a brave face,
And wishes to disappear.

Her beauty is screaming from within.
"You are worthy."
But she continues to relish in her flaws.
As a stain on the world.

She attempts to reach out,
But is rejected and despised.
She contains the pain once again.
Hiding it beneath her solitude.

The days continue.
There are no more tears.
A beautiful darkness spreads within.
She no longer cares.

Today is the day.
A sense of elation begins.
She has made peace with her demons,
And has embraced her shame.

She is ready.
The metal is cold on her skin.
The blade makes its mark.
It slides across her soul.

She sighs and she laughs,
At the bright red pool forming on the floor.
She sees the rain shine through the dark.
And life's hopeless journey to the unknown begins.

Another ordinary girl is lost...

Exposed
Afraid
  To be real
   An illusion
    Artificial smile
     Manufactured interest
      Painful apprehension
       An Impending encounter
        No escape
         Succumb
          Detached from self
           Dissociated mind
            Plastic eyes
             Void of feeling
              Mechanical heart
               Foul abandonment
                Self-pity
                 Worthless
                   Squandered life
                    Exit right