Masquerade

Too often do we find that others, and we ourselves, would rather put forth more effort to continuously run away from our problems, fears, and issues than to stand and face them for once and for all...We become voluntary slaves to our weaknesses...Remember, the farther we run from our problems, the more "distance" and time it will take to get back and merely face it...Fight or flight: you'd think we'd realize by now that it's much harder to get airborne than to stand in the midst of gravity...

What lies behind that mask?
A wound too harsh?
A scratch too deep?
A bruise too tender to be touched?
You've built a fortress within this guise
And have yet to come out from behind it.
For what purpose was this edifice, this facade, constructed?
To deter a vagabond
Or to jail the princess?
Your band-aid smile peels at the edges —
A sign it's been worn too long —
And yet you dawn it still...
Afraid of the pull and afraid of the tug,
Only fleeting is the relief that hiding has come to give you.
Hidden from view, the pain remains in tact.
I will kiss your bruises...
I will lick your wounds...
And I will soothe each scratch upon thy flesh...
But, first. you must allow me to do so.
Show me your injuries,
And I will teach you the beauty of your scars.
Bring me your sorrows,
And I will show you the strength within your tears.
Permit me, and I will render your confines asunder upon the ground.