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Poetry: Pretending

by Crystal Cook

Always pretending
frolicking forever
in fallacy

I would scream
if anyone would
listen

They do not want
be aware

Awareness
makes you
liable

When you're forced
to see what you have
blinded from your sight
it can no longer
be ignored

They only want to
see the smile
that masks the frenzy
beneath the surface
of me

I am fading
into a reality
they refuse to see

My pain is my own

My wounds are
deep though my
life's blood does
not spill

I'll not
fade away
just yet

I will remain
the actress
for as long as I can

I will cry
silent tears

I will hold on
for them

I will pretend
I am still
who I used to be

They could not
handle my truth

They have driven
me to the cliffs
of insanity

To save them
I shall
continue to
pretend . . .

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