Perfect Stranger

I'm a mystery
to myself incapable
of being someone else
I'm afraid of breaking
this mirror I've been
hiding behind

I put on warpaint
to hide all
my flaws and hope
the concealer works
inside out

I'm afraid you'll see
through the layers
of deceit and find
the stranger I've
left behind

The me you see
is a veneer covering
layers of guilt and
lies.

 I've made a sculpture
of myself.


encasing the real
me deep within this game
of hide and seek
reduces me to
a mirage

just when I catch
a glimmer of
myself
I watch for
your reaction.