it's much easier to appear unphased

than to admit that the walls i put up inside my being

have morphed into open windows

am i still vulnerable if it's only internal?

looking at you sparks an unsettling amount of familiarity inside me

and i know if i allow myself to fall prisoner to these urges -

if i don't refuse these emotions that keep surfacing,

i will end up creating yet another home out of a person who has no room for a permanent resident.