Here I am again--
or is it just that I thought
I had rid myself
of my childhood demons?

Battling quietly, so no one
knows I am suffering,
I softly tiptoe through Life,
yet manage to leave a path
of destruction behind me.

"Who am I hiding from?" I ask,
"Why can't I give myself
permission to be here;
to gently comfort
the sensitive child
who took on the Sorrows
of the World?"

So I continue the Journey
to the center of my Soul,
recreating myself
every year or so--
dropping men like flies
as I peel away the masks--
hoping I can minimize
the wreckage of my past
mistakes
and again be reborn
to include myself
among the Human Race.