Our stage is full of beauty and light,
filled with naught but laughter and hope.
A man flips on the sun, ever so bright,
as the stars disappear, retracted by ropes.

The actors pour in, armed with bright colors and props,
and the audience roars with praise!
The performers tell their story, their true character swapped,
hiding their truth in a playwrights haze.

One man stood out, beloved by the crowd,
for he was honored, noble, and kind.
His loved ones, his family, were immeasurably proud.
He won over the masses, believing his own mind.

But he lied.

He hated.

He stole.

He betrayed.

He killed.

Evil was his to control.

And as the people left, he took on that role.

He released his twisted, black soul.

He laughed as he cried, the lights have gone out.

the darkness was where his true nature would shout.

“I am Sin, I am Night, I am Doubt!”

Hair torn from his skull, leaving bare patches...

Fingernails cracked from his own violent thrashes...

His skin was bloody and raw from giving him lashes.

Then...

One lone woman never left her seat.
She witnessed all on stage.
The bitterness, the sorrow, all of the rage,
She couldn't take anymore, and stood on her feet.

She walked toward the man, her steps echoing in the black.
Her heart beating at this hidden shadow.
As his demons manifested, and began to grow,
and they beat him, tore him, left his essence cracked.

She climbed the steps, and looked down at this wretched reject.
His facade, once sealed tight, now lay exposed and useless.
He deserved nothing but death's sweet caress,
Nothing but dirt, a burden, a disgusting insect.

She kissed him.
She kissed me.
I was loved...
I am free.

Thank you... For giving me the power to not be afraid... Of myself.