Prying Eyes

Everything gets better, eventually.

Take a deep breath, climb those three steps,

Nobody is looking your way yet, another moment,

He screams to get their attention, they’re all looking now,

So many eyes looking your way, don’t forget to smile,

 

The first words out of your mouth are natural,

These are the ones you practiced, it has started okay,

But you put your best foot forward and that was your mistake,

Because everyone is now waiting and they can only see you limping,

 

You had their attention, but you lost it. Now you stand there ashamed,

Red cheeks and beating heart, hold back the tears and focus on your words,

They won’t remember this in the morning, but you will,

Standing there with the awkward murmurs from the crowd,

 

You didn’t want to do this, you said so yourself, you said so,

So why did you let others direct your forward until you stood on stage,

Paper in hand, mind flailing and tears ready to break those damn concrete walls,

Why did you let your spine waver? Because he asked you too.

 

You stand there with the consequences, because he asked you too,

But as you stand there spouting those words, he has his back turned,

Laughing with another, perhaps at you, definitely at you,

This is the thanks you get for breaking the barrier to your control,

 

Forget finishing the whole thing, you wrap it up pretty quickly,

Hide the shame and turn to the next step, avoiding the looking eyes,

Put your mask back in place and nobody will see the difference,

Trust me, it has worked every single time before. Nobody will notice.

Reviews

[Davidgeo]

If you were to edit this down to the bare minimum of what it what it takes to convey your message this poem would be spectacular.

There are too many words that aren't absolutely necessary. Some lines read like straight prose. Shave it down. It'll be better I promise.