Break time.
Consciousness a tough sell.
No more distracting,
the veneer is worn thin.
Posing and laughing,
dressing up, and dancing
the dance of the day,
doesn’t mean the ghosts
still sleep.
Cover comes away,
and all the shadows
spread out into the corners.
Take up strategic posts,
like sentry friends,
or hunting spiders.
Lay it all out
on the walls.
Assess the wounds
that still bleed,
that still seep.
Sins covered up,
old hatreds linger,
like the odor
of something dead.
When the time comes,
cover it up again.
Put on the pants,
the shirt,
the shoes,
the hair,
and the smile.
They’ll never see
how thin
these things have become
on the inside.
How many dark shadows
and webs of denials
fill the spaces within.
Smile,
laugh,
and dance
the dance of the day.
no one knows
what dark souls
these clothes contain.
DJR – 2023
