For someone to tell you:
“Be yourself”
Would be like someone saying:
“Do not use your mind! Block every thought,
Because each one will bring two more insecurities.”
Those insecurities scrape and peel
Layer after layer of your skin away
until there is nothing
Nothing left of the person you were
The insecurities manifest themselves
They are like a ravenous pack of wolves
They devour every innocent morsel of flesh
Racing through your being, they never tire out
You are no longer yourself
In just the course of one night
“Yourself” is someone who has been torn down
And rebuilt
To look and act more like
The people around you
For someone to tell you:
“Be yourself”
Is like asking someone to plug their ears,
Close their eyes, Ignore the world
and stop breathing
Because the toxic air pumped out
By the entertainment biz
Can choke every living breath
Any shred of dignity
Everything that made you unique
The poison so lethal it can suffocate
All the things that made you
Yourself
I like how you personified the insecurities and showed the irony of being told "be yourself".
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line is "“Yourself” is someone who has been torn down
And rebuilt
To look and act more like
The people around you".
I know the picture shows wolves tearing apart flesh but I kinda love wolves so I think that picture is super cute!
I liked your use of repetition in the phrase "being yourself." My favorite line was "Layer after layer of your skin away," because it really made me visualize what these insecurities felt like. Good poem!
ReplyDelete