MY WALLS

I had built my walls

to keep the caring people out,

to keep from being hurt,

and yet in the end

the walls themselves were the demons causing all my pain.

I built them thick-

so thick, I could not hear anyone through them,

so thick no one could hear me.

I built them strong.

I depended on them to keep me safe.

They were to be my protection from the world around me.

Nothing could get through these walls.

There was only one way in and one way out-

or so I thought.

The door had no knobs on either side and only one key,

which I had hidden so well

not even I, myself, knew how to find it.

It was hidden somewhere inside with me.

My strong walls could not protect me from the storms of life.

I had built no roof.

There were days when it would rain

and the water came in.

I feared drowning.

I wanted to call out for help, but no one could hear me through my walls.

There were people just outside my walls that would have tried to save me,

that would have wanted to help,

but they had no idea what I was going through.

My walls kept them from knowing my situation,

from knowing me.

My walls protected me from living.