By: Linda M Crate

damask faces
everyone looks at me blankly
no one recognizes the girl
staring back at them,
and i admit
i’ve changed since they last have seen me;
wrote a few books and had one
published—
these people used to make me smile,
but now i think they hate me
resent me for everything i’ve accomplished
as if they’ve never had a dream
they’ve breathed into
life;
and suddenly i’m lost for words
these once friends have become my enemies—
strangers embrace me more intimately
than these people who have
forgotten me,
and i find a thousand reasons to excuse myself
they sharpen their knives as i confess
my sins;
i know i am far from perfect but i have always
strived to be kind and supportive
it really hurts that people that should be
supporting me the most are the
ones willing to me to fall—
but not everyone has the same heart as me and with the
same demure face i dismiss them because i’ve already
met enough devils in my lifetime,
and i am ready to dance in the fountains of my joy
forget all these naysayers
embrace happiness.