Life of a Liar

 The mirror holds a stranger’s face,

A mask of calm, a practiced grace.

I walk the path I chose to tread,

With ghosts of better dreams ahead.

I say my heart is steel and stone,

That I am king upon this throne,

And that the ache I feel is pride

A hollow place where shadows hide.

Of all the lies a man can tell,

None more dangerous than the one he tells himself.

I swear the fire is just a spark,

That I am unafraid of dark,

That I don't miss the hand I hold,

That I am brave, that I am bold.

But silence is a heavy weight,

And lies become a closing gate.

The truth is waiting in the glass,

Watching all the seasons pass.

I build my walls of painted glass,

And let the honest moments pass,

Ignoring how the light will bend

To hide the brokenness I tend.

For in the dark, the echo rings,

Of all the truth that silence brings

A bitter draught upon the shelf,

The lie I tell unto myself.