To Be Seen

I was afraid to be seen for years 

Being seen 

Was pretty scary to me

 

It came from not believing in myself 

Afraid to get things wrong 

Not getting many opportunities

I didn’t question it 

I just kept quiet.

 

I began 

Fading into the back 

 

It became a place

I got comfortable 

I felt like it was

Where I had to be 

 

Being told 

I wasn’t good enough for years 

Being put on the shelf 

Gathering up the dust 

I felt like I was on 

The outside looking in

 

Glazed with the downpour of rain

I felt so cold and so invisible 

 

I wasn’t ready to 

Take the steps forward 

I had a lot of ideas to share, 

But I was too fearful 

 

To be seen 

I just wanted to hide 

Staying at the back 

I wasn’t feeling confident to move 

 

I was caught between the cracks

I didn’t feel beautiful 

People were calling me ugly for so long 

That I started to believe it

 

There’s nothing special 

About me, 

that’s what I thought.

 

Feeling doubtful, so fearful 

 

I found it so hard to breathe 

To find the right words 

 

To be heard

I felt like I was mute 

To have a voice 

I felt voiceless. 

 

I’m in a place now

Where being seen isn’t as scary 

As before 

But 

I’m still on that journey.

 

By Manny