alter ego

1: smile softly, nod your head 

laugh quietly with creased eyes

agree with words you don’t 

legs crossed, hands in your lap 

you are being watched and 

the audience loves this angle 

2: rake your fingernails down skin

running blood of self-inflicted 

is almost as deep as these bruises

hair wild and unkempt 

you must never stop running 

or they will forever follow you

1: talk of small table conversation

pleasing to their ears

in a voice that was never yours

these words that you memorized 

what the audience hopes to hear

they are always listening 

2: bash your head on whitewash

to right the thoughts that 

never escape this endless mind

rants of emotions unknown 

you must scream of this psychosis

or they will drown you out

1: dance into societal acceptance

these unwritten rules of “good”

are your mantra 

they must not know that 

this cardboard box does not

fit you as perfectly as it seems

2: twist and contort into 

a rewritten tale of control 

you are here to crumble this world

into a place of truth 

you must break this double-sided mirror

and show the world

what they do not hope to see