take my hand
and set me free
help me live
and let me be

My tears
   betray my
   laughter
   I'm naked
   in spotlights
   acting alive
   ashes in my
   tiny urn
   on a mantle
   forgotten
   each day.
   clocks tic
   clocks toc
   heart beats
   year at a time
   lost forever.

I am adept
In the art of being okay
I have mastered the craft
Of covering my troubles
I use all sorts of fancy facades
Acrylic, oil, watercolor
You name it.

I can paint over nearly anything

You will never know
How late I was up last night
Or why.

My eyes flicker
Like candlelight
But you couldn’t see
You couldn’t possibly see
I’m too good
For that.

I can dance, too
Waltzing away my sorrows
Carefully tip toe-ing the
Pas-de-I-am-fine
I get a standing ovation every time

I’m very talented, you see.

But my all time favorite
Is my disappearing act
I’m still perfecting it
Right now
But one of these days
I’ll show you
How I
Slip
Slip
Slip
Away

Right through your fingers.

I despise myself for not being someone you could love.