Insecurities surround me
This is not how I used to be
I don't know what changed
Something broke, something snapped

For a while now I feel it
The fear of hurting others
It commands me to obey
Something demanding, something controlling

And I never knew why
I am consumed by guilt
For voicing my opinion
Something honest, something genuine

I guess it's just because
I never wanted someone else
To feel a modicum of how I felt when hurt
Something disposable, something discarded

So I avoid it at all costs
I take the long way home, but get lost
And I end up hurting others anyway
Something accidental, something unintentional

I have good intentions
But they are masked by the fear
Of hurting others in the end and it is
Something unavoidable, something inescapable