what is safe to share?
What is safe enough to share?
With anyone.
Most times I don’t feel safe enough
to share my whole story
with anyone.
So I don’t
People ask me all the time:
What do the masks mean?
The jagged teeth, the scary eyes…what do they mean?
It’s at this point (or any point really)
that I get tongue-tied.
Because, where do I begin?
Do you want the whole story,
The real story
or just the 10 second elevator pitch?
Are you just wanting something to say?
or do you really want to know
Because something about that mask
has drawn you in
and touched you somewhere
That surprised you.
Some place deep inside
That you were not expecting to feel
on this sidewalk
on this Saturday
in May.
This is my hope.
That I have met someone
like me.
Someone who has a hard time sharing their story,
their whole story
with somebody else.
Even those closest to them
Especially those closest to them.
So here it is:
The masks are my inability to revisit
the most difficult parts of my life.
The not wanting to speak out loud
the many truths of my complicated life.
Who I am on the outside is
Who I want you to see.