I was a young child, looking for love
And I let the real me show forth, hoping to be accepted
But I was disappointed after their indifference and scorn
I soon retracted back and built my façade
With the real me locked up safe inside
I could fit in like everyone else
I played their game being artificial and fake
Letting outside symbols define who I was
But the real me was suffocated, shouting to be released
He was tortured, unloved, and even worse—unknown
Why can’t people see me? Why don’t they care?
I have much to offer, if you would just let me be
So on I continued, drudging through life
Showing forth the charade, the careful illusion
Because I thought that was what they wanted to see
I moved from person to person, and place to place
Always receiving the exact same result
I was dead to life and dead to me
Until one day I met a tiny group
They were so different, so off, so outside the norm
They saw through my charade, it could not keep them at bay
I wanted to shrink, I wondered if this might actually be real
“What could you possibly want?” I implored
I unknowingly dropped my defenses
Being so relaxed and at ease, I knew not why
And frantically I searched, hoping to find
What I had buried, forgotten, and lost long ago
So I unlocked his chains, I opened his door
And I let him come out and fully unleash
Unadulterated, unrestrained, and flowing as free as could be
I soon glanced around, and I could see their response
With tears in their eyes and a long warm embrace
I knew I was loved, and I knew I was seen
My full value had finally, finally been received
But a much greater gift than that they gave
For the real me they helped the most important person to see
And that most important person was me
–Jason Westlake
Monday, October 9, 2006
