THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
(WHAT YOU DON'T SEE)

You don't see the strength that I have to muster

just to stay on my feet

because the things that you say hurt so much

that they cut my legs off at the knees.

You don't see the damage that I hide where you can't see it

but beneath my skin it bleeds.

You don't know with what courage of will I stand my ground

and maintain my air of arrogance

while the foundations of my self-esteem

are crumbling and falling down to rubble.

You don't know how when you turn your back and walk away

the facade is let down

and the curtains to my humanity are drawn open

to reveal a soul in agony and pain.

You don't see that my fast paced 3 foot strides

trickle down to feet dragged slowly across the stones.

And you don't see that the things that make me "tough"

slip to my fingertips where they hang limp-

once they can no longer be seen by you.

You don't see the tears that pave my road home

that come from being hurt by the only thing that means anything-

my love.

My love is a pun. I think the last two lines of the first stanza (among other things) needs work.

Essentially the poem is about being a disappointment to those (or that) whom I hold dear when to be in their favor is all that matters to me. But truly I'm caught within a web of hypocrisy and unfairness and the only way to win is to cheat or play by rules that are neither mine nor yours.

THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN (WHAT YOU DON'T SEE)

THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
(WHAT YOU DON'T SEE)