Naked

                                                                                                                                           

I took off my mask

and rent my clothes.

No longer called

to dance amongst

the masquerade.

I bared my real face,

and my body

to the afternoon sun.

                                                                                                                                           

So few reveal themselves these days,

convinced of who they truly are

by voices coming out of the walls.

Echoes in their heads,

speaking words

that don’t mean anything at all.

                                                                                                                                           

I stood naked

for the first time

in a long while,

feeling the sun and wind

and all their eyes upon me.

Judging me,

shunning me,

for my mask

made me one of them.

                                                                                                                                           

My choice to try

was proved a lie.

I was left wanting,

bereft of calling,

falling into traps

they set along the line.

The cult is never satisfied.

                                                                                                                                           

How could I be more holy?

How could I be more pure,

than standing there

naked

before them?

Strange how they’re the ones

who seemed unsure.

                                                                                                                                           

They shifted in their clothes,

and giggled behind their masks,

but the look in their eyes

only served to satisfy

my absolution.

I opened my arms wide

and embraced the sun,

free of the name

that they gave to me.

                                                                                                                                           

I am whole,

and I am free.

Alone before the world.

I didn’t need them

to prove to me

that I am alive,

and loved and free,

but they needed me

to prove to themselves

their validity.

                                                                                                                                           

Let the sun

shine on my skin,

and let the wind carry me away.

Taking steps out on my own.

Finding my way

all alone,

and true,

and naked.

                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                           

HG – 2020