American You

In the quiet corners of our shared space,  

I wear a mask, a crafted face,  

With smiles stitched from threads of care,  

Yet inside, a storm brews, wild and bare.  

You laugh, you dream, you see the light,  

But shadows whisper through the night,  

My truths like thorns, sharp and real,  

Could pierce your heart; I fear the feel.  

I dance on eggshells, cautious and frail,  

Hiding the depths where my demons wail,  

Each word I swallow, each thought I cage,  

A silent war, a heart in rage.  

What if I spoke of the pain I bear?  

Of scars and wounds that lay me bare?  

Would your love falter, would you turn away,  

If you knew the darkness where I sway?  

I want to show you the colors I hide,  

The vibrant chaos of my shifting tide,  

But love is a fragile, precious thing,  

And truth can cut like a bitter sting.  

So I smile and nod, a puppet on strings,  

While the weight of my heart in silence clings,  

Yet in the stillness, I crave to know,  

Can love endure when the shadows grow?  

For every moment I twist and bend,  

I lose a piece of the soul I defend,  

But still I hold on, through tears and strife,  

Struggling to be me, in this tangled life.