Inside This Mirror Poem by Charnele Waith

I go by each day with this smile on my face
This smile is just a thin layer that covers the scars I'm forced to embrace
I try to look at the world through not these eyes, but the eyes that others see
Because my internal picture is covered in dark debris
My words they hear send laughter to their ears
But I hear them pouring out like bitter tasting tears
They believe my heart beats soft, warm flowing with purity and kindness
But I feel its burns motionless and black as it destroys, denies me happiness
They thought they knew me as they watched me go through each day
But another side in dark shadows it stays
Until I gaze into this mirror and am forced to see
All the illusions, all the fears, pain, anger in me
Inside my two worlds endlessly collide
And this reflection staring back has put love aside
Every day, a battle between clashing thoughts
And repeating struggles I've already fought
As the darker side fights to be free
I cannot simply just let it be
I will go on my days with the smile that hides my terror
Hoping no one else sees what I see inside this mirror