Imaginary Audience

This poem is based off of something we talked about in Adolescent Psychology today.


I’ve always preferred closed doors
Shutting things out
Keeping things in
Safety from the din
Sweet silence is my friend
Peaceful
All alone is fine with me
Keeping secrets with myself
Whispering hidden thoughts
Or
Being what I wouldn’t be
Doing what I couldn’t do
Dreaming what I shouldn’t dream…

A scream shakes my walls
A beam goes flashing through the halls
A seam rips cleanly,
The curtain falls upon a stage
Just meant for me
All I see
Cushioned chairs, row on row
So low the lights
But stinging bright
Right into my eyes
Too many places and open spaces
My mind begins to reconstruct
Tightening barriers
A cat clinging with claws
Sprawled in an attempt to be rid of all flaws
Where to flee? What to be?
Is everyone out there looking at me?
A lone figure, right down in front
Frantically searching for something
Far off
A familiar jaw line
And messy mop of hair
A tear in the face for a mouth
A small button nose and oddly shaped clothes
But the eyes
The eyes, I cannot deny…
A reflection of myself
Just a mirror stares back at the girl on stage
And all the other seats
Are free of occupants
Empty as can be
The only one watching
The only one staring
The only one caring at all
Is me