I crack a smile, and force a laugh,

but this facade is hard to keep.

They think I'm happy, and okay,

but inside it isn't as sweet.

Alone in torment, and despair,

in a darkness they don't know.

That is where I live and hide,

where I continue to grow.

They can't know, how it is for me,

it's a secret kept within.

A stigma of sadness, and hatred,

what I can't take on the chin.

I can't let them know my suffering,

can't let them in my life.

So I bear it on the inside,

and keep hidden my strife.