The Fault is MIne

The Fault Is Mine

I’ve been carrying around a secret

that I did not know.

Now that I think of it,

I wish it were not so.

I react to an invisible danger

that does not exist in every stranger.

I’ve been afraid of man, human, and child �"

the thought of that now seems wild.

I thought they’d scream, judge, and defile me

without any notice.

So I built a fortress

to protect me from invisible pain.

This behavior canceled out any gain

and made me look for a threat

from every person I met.

And yet the dig, the scream �"

they were never mean.

I realized I had been living in a false lie

that my brain cooked up to protect me

from imaginary abuse.

Now I can choose

to stand up straight

and look them in the eye,

refuse to believe the lie

that I am less than a human being.

My future is suddenly freeing.