You See Me Standing There

You see me standing there and have no idea of who I am
Many think I am strong and have a handle on the world
Some actually think I am proud and a bit of a snob
For I stand straight and tall as I was taught

What you don't know is that my grandmother made me this way
And what you see is habit, not how I really am
For behind that tall standing lady
I a little girl starved for attention and acceptance stands

My life has mostly been lived behind a mask
To hide the pain and cover up the loneliness
People always say they want to know you
But really they want to know they don't have to know you

They ask how you are, and pass by before you can answer
You could say "I have a brain tumor" and they would say "great"
They really want to believe you are the strong one
The one they can turn to for compassion and love

If you take off the mask and show who you really are
They back away and try to ignore the pain
It scares them to see that I might have my own problems
And that they might be needed for encouragement

So there I will stand and watch you walk on by
For I can see who you are and what you need
And you only see what you want to see
The lady standing tall looking as if she has the world by the tail.

     Lynda Leigh (c) 7/2002

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