In private,
thoughts creep up
and tell me I am
    inadequate
    unequal
    undeserving
they tell me I am
    worthless
    useless
    fake
and I grin,
I bare it
because I
    think
    hope
    wish
they are wrong
but they're so persistent,
so very convincing,
    maybe they're right
if I can't even be alone
with the thoughts in my own head,
how do I convince myself
otherwise?