Inside Me It Screams

When you look at me, what do you see?
Do you see someone you like, or wish to be?
When I look at myself, do you know what I see?
I see a frightened child staring back at me.
Behind this mask of a face is what I won’t let you see,
Because the truth of what’s there is too ill to conceive,
A living thing of darkness has come to be.
Stretching and twisting it grows like a tree.
Inside me it screams as it tries to break free,
But how do you face a demon you can’t see?
It’s easier to pretend that you just don’t believe.
So behind a mask of splendor I hide the real me,
Because what’s underneath is too disturbing to see.