It's not for you it's for me. But maybe it's for you too.
Stoic Walls
You looked at me
a stoic glare.
But I see more than nothing.
I see your blockade
so carefully crafted.
Sturdy brick
and strong mortar.
Bit by moment
moment by bit
you didn't even know.
Now, it covers you
like scaly barnacles
on a majestic whale.
You walk about
in pretend
perfection.
But I see through
the steel plates
that house the
heart so stunted.
The little boy
lost at age two.
No games.
No fun.
No time.
I see you
wrapped in gauze and cast
agonized and burned
marred and suffering.
I see you
in early maturity
I see you
holding fast
to that title
called man.
I see you
struggling
within.
But as it went up
it can come down.
Bit by moment
moment by bit.
Progression from pieces
peeling within.
Scaling back the layers
one by one
dropping the bricks
the barnacles
the bandages.
You know I’m not your savior.
I've got my own sin.
-Sarah Bachtel
