Don't Judge Me
Posted on: August 22, 2008 - 7:37pm
Don't Judge Me
Don't Judge Me
By: Destiny
Don't judge me by the face I wear
For I wear a mask,
A thousand masks,
And none of them are me.
I'm too afraid to show
The real me that no one knows.
Act one, scene three,
My whole life is a play.
But the script is torn apart--
Not the whole script,
Just my part.
I fumble with my lines,
Struggle to keep my masks on
Because if they fall
I'll be exposed,
Insecure,
All over again.
So don't judge me,
Get to know me.
You may be surprised
That there is more to me than meets the eye.



Ooo... I particularly like this poem. The language is really smooth and the way you've broken up the lines seems to complement that points where emphasis helps. (Ya ok, so I get too deep into writing responses.. =P)|
At the first couple lines, I thought "Oh no, not another obnoxious you-don't-know-me poem," but the 5th line turns that completely on its head. I like the sentence style of statements interspersed by signs of doubt and insecurity. I usually find the two elements separate either too cocky or too doubtful. But I think you've managed to combine to two beautiful to create a first-person who's more real - strong, yet insecure and complex.
The beginning and end wrap up the piece really nicely and I like how the end refers back to the beginning, even in tone and word choice.
I was taken by surprise with "Act one, scene three". (Reminded me of those Shakespeare days in high school... <3) I think it fits well with the theme and paints a more real person. And I appreciate the detail that "Not the whole script [is torn],/Just my part." It focuses the implied struggles inward, within the strong, yet insecure character. (I don't like those blame-the-whole-world kind of messages..) And fumbling lines implies that the character takes responsibility for their actions, trying to keep from being exposed.
I think the whole poem feels solid to me because everything seems consistent to the "Don't Judge Me" theme and everything alludes to the complexity of the person's life as a play, as if there's some attempt at choreographing and playing out life amid the fumbles and struggles of keeping one of those thousand masks on.
Even the clichés of "more than meets the eye" works here because it feels true.
Anyway, well done. ^_^ I hope you post more of your work.
"No one has ever said that life is to be easy. Only that it is to be lived." - Grandmother in "The Road to Rankin's Point" by Alistair Macleod