Shadows! ! Poem by lerato shuping

SHADOWS


I go by each day smile on my face
Only that smile is just a thin layer that covers the scars I have forced myself to embrace
The world is shown through the eyes that others see
But my internal picture is covered in dark debris
My body moves around like a gazelle in its most graceful phase
Only I know I’m only its prey that won’t run from the chase
My spoken words you hear send laughter to your ears
Only I hear them pouring out like bitter tasting tears
I hold you with all I’ve got and in my touch you feel my sincerity
When all alone I refuse my own touch as it denies me of clarity

You swear my heart beats soft, warm redness flowing with purity and kindness
But I feel its burns stagnant and black as it destroys me and denies me happiness
You thought you knew me as you watched me go through my days
But when I am with you the me you know and see is there
But my other in dark shadows it stays
Inside my two worlds collide
My hurt, fears and pain have put all the love I knew and felt aside

I want you to know me understand me
The real me
But I would never lead you to this empty hole
So I go on and live like I know
Let my dark side fight to be free
Till then I let it be…

Lerato Ladyfair Shuping