Not myself

Above all, be yourself,
Oh how I laugh, dear,
To see that from you,
Not because I mock you,
I know you as well,
As you know me,
Old friend,
We are not so different,
You and I,
Both hiding behind masks,
Layers of paper and words,
Endless dreams and rejections,
The countless hurts,
All life's little misadventures and misdirections,
They shelter us,
We, the ones who died,
And came back to life,
Only to lose ourselves in the process,
Of living and loving,
And still we look in the mirror,
Hating who we are,
Ever-changing,
Evolving,
Society's chameleons.

We will never be truly ourselves,
Tell me, truthfully,
Who is it who talks to me in your guise now?
I will not be who I am today tomorrow,
Forgive me,
I am not myself tonight,
Nor will I ever be.

~Rei Shiori