What You Wish to See

I present to you an image, an image of hope run dry where only dust is drawn to be sipped from my well
You see a person who is weary of this world, tired of what it has become, worn down by all it has brought my way
You judge that I am run down by one day following another, with late nights and early mornings sandwiched between them
You cannot see past my clothing, deliberately voluminous rendering me shapeless, shielding me from your eye and the eye of others like you
I cross my arms to form a outer wall defending my true nature
My face I keep face flat, expressionless, my eyes deliberately dulled and downcast
I employ my lips to hold this cigarette firm, keeping them shaped in a parallel line
You ask me to smile, why should I smile for you, I am not here to perform like a wind up toy
I am me, myself, alone
You will sketch in pen and ink and take away nothing but a shadow of my true self
My true self, my soul I keep locked deep inside
That person is a treasure that I do not share with anyone
You judge that I have knowledge of nothing, as I lack an education
Yet behind these eyes I have experiences of life that no classroom could hope to offer
As you etch my image you think you have captured me
I cannot be caught, held, restrained onto your pages of flimsy paper
You draw only that which I wish you to see, and what you wish to see, nothing more.