A smile from a veil, my accepted face,
Concealing my pain, jumping into the rat race.
Each tear unshed is a secret I’m forced to keep,
Buried in silence, too heavy, too deep.

The mask is a burden I’m not allowed to refuse,
Its weight on my body, leaves a constant bruise.
My laughter is now hollow, my breath comes thin,
The air feels empty each time I breathe it in.

They praise the portrait I’ve learned to display,
While the life in my chest keeps fading away.
The world applauds the role I play,
While pieces of me are stripped away.

My laughter a costume, stitched with fear,
An armored disguise that keeps people near.
They love the act, the happiness I feign,
Never the truth nor the ache or the strain.

Some nights I dream of letting myself free,
Allowing the world to see the real me.
But the disgust of their gaze keeps my hands still,
So I continue to wear the mask, against my will.
The veil that hides the truth, will shred and tear,
I’ll learn to breathe again, no matter who it may scare.
-Sana Bhatnagar