whoami #

sometimes, i feel there’s someone nearby
not someone bad, but someone dear
a quiet presence, always watching
not with judgment, but with gentle care

i think they know my thoughts
and so i try—
i try to act better,
to be someone worth their gaze.
i keep hoping they’ll approve
of this version of me i present.

years slip by, unnoticed
and still i wonder,
“who am i?”
who was i before i started this act?

is this me?
or am i just wearing a mask,
hiding the truth,
burying the original so deep
that it’s impossible to reach?

i sit here, alone with my thoughts,
wondering if i’ll ever be free
from this charade.
will i ever be whole,
find the person beneath it all
and feel something like peace?

but when the night comes
and the quiet grows heavy
my doubts, my fears—they settle in
i wonder if i’ll ever see
the person i was supposed to be