A façade

Pic: Kathryn

not everyone is as happy as it seems
darker sorrows lie underneath their skin
sinking them into the depths of a black sea
we just never know they are fighting them each day

not everyone is as sad as it seems
they find joy in being alone, or
lost in their own worlds, their own life
we just assume they’re sad
’cause they don’t fit our definition of life

what we see on the outside is a mask, a façade
and we imagine their life based on this mask
we too put on façades
as defence, hiding our true selves
trying to impress others

we put on façades proactively too
to construct, or may be induce, meaning
— identity —
into our life, for people to see
what we want them to see

it becomes a habit so much that
the real person, the real me, the real you
often goes
obscure