We learn early how to survive—
by hiding our hunger,
by quieting our need to be seen.
We call it strength,
but it’s really the art of vanishing in plain sight.
We shape ourselves to fit,
to please,
to move unnoticed through rooms
that never learned to hold us.
And somewhere between silence and performance,
we begin to forget what real feels like.
But there comes a moment—
a breaking so gentle you almost miss it—
when pretending becomes heavier than fear itself.
The mask cracks,
and through it, breath returns.
Healing begins not in perfection,
but in permission.
The permission to need,
to be seen,
to exist without apology.
True courage is not the armor we wear,
but the heart we reveal.
And in that revealing,
we find something eternal—
a light untouched by recognition,
a freedom born from being wholly,
imperfectly,
beautifully human.
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Author:
G.Cabús (
Offline) - Published: October 11th, 2025 00:41
- Comment from author about the poem: This poem was born from the quiet realization that survival often teaches us to hide our needs—to equate invisibility with strength. I wrote it while reflecting on how many of us learn to adapt by silencing our true selves, mistaking that silence for resilience.\r\n\r\nBut healing, I’ve discovered, begins when we allow ourselves to need again—to be seen, to be real, to exist without apology. The Moment We Stop Pretending is an invitation to lay down the mask, to release the weight of performance, and to remember that true courage lives not in perfection, but in authenticity.\r\n\r\nBecause only when we dare to be seen as we are, do we finally meet the freedom we’ve been seeking all along.
- Category: Reflection
- Views: 7
Offline)
Comments2
You make a good point in this poem that it is hard to be oneself in an environment that is threatening. Survival takes precedence and hiding is one form of survival as is running. Well done
A nice write that makes valid points in the art of survival and potential healing, I understand the message of laying down the mask, but for some that is easy to say but not to do. Interesting and enjoyable read
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