“And after all, what is a lie? ‘Tis but the truth in masquerade.”
– Lord Byron
We do so much for the ones we love.
We put up a front of being platinum shields when we are just a puddle of mess,
waiting and fearing for the next struggle to kick us in the gut and splash our soul out.
We are forever smiling in their presence, lest they know of our anxieties in their absence.
Or maybe the anxieties do bid farewell, temporarily though it might be, with them.
But then come right back to hit us even worse.
And maybe that’s why the tears are harder to contain in their presence,
because we know what’s coming in their absence.
And maybe that’s why we fight so much against it,
because we are not ready to face our vulnerable presence.
But their strength does give you the perseverance to keep going no matter what.
It flows into you from their touch, their voice, their hugs.
It keeps you alive. Just alive enough to respond when they ask you if anything is wrong.
And you muster up the whole courage and chaos within you to utter those little words of white lies,
“Everything is fine. It is just fine.”
