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Enigma

Opening up through prose 

You don't know me

You may think you do

But, you don't 

You'll never know me

 

You see me

You acknowledge me

You admire me 

But you don't know me

 

I wish you did

I wish you could

But you don't. You won't.

You'll never really know me

 

You could treat my face like a book

Break it down line by line

Analyze every sentence

Search for a deeper meaning 

But my face is not a book

Merely an abstract

 

It screams anger, happiness, sadness

Red, yellow, blue

Fire, sunshine, rain

 

But you couldn't possibly know 

Know how I really feel

You ask me how I'm doing

I tell you what you want to hear

 

I couldn't possibly open up

Especially not to you

I refuse to be vulnerable

I choose to hide 

 

Because opening up to you means being 

A flame near water

A balloon near a needle

A fish near a hook

You think I'm strong, 

But I cry alone in my room

You think I'm confident

But I focus on my imperfections

 

Here's what you do know

My family and friends

My favorite songs and movies

My embarrassing stories

And even that, is too much

 

But what you don't know 

What I don't tell you

Stays with me

And separates us

 

What I choose to hide, to not say

My armor, my safety net

I put up walls to protect myself

From you.

 

I'm sorry.

I wish you could know me

I want to let you into my prison

Where I hold my deepest secrets

My shame, my emotions, my pain, my fears, my guilt

What makes me happy, mad, anxious, sad

What makes me laugh, cry, and smile

 

I want to tell you how you make me feel

Frustrated. Headphones impossible to untangle

Lost. Stuck in a mirror maze.

Happy. Windows down at midnight. 

But I can't tell you these things

 

You couldn't possibly know me

Partially because I don't know myself

Why I do things, How I think

I am my own enigma

 

I'll never know you either

As much as I want to know you, trust you, believe you 

Dive into to the depths 

of that complex web of yours ?

I don't want to be stuck, 

trapped 

I need to protect myself 

 

Just like how you'll never know me

I'll never know you

Stay on your side

And I, mine.

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