I am poisonous.
But I have my own disguise
Every morning, I paint myself
Thick with honeyed lies

Some will pass close to me,
Drawn in by the facade
But quickly scurry backwards
When they see how I am made

This mask, they see, isn't made of pearl,
But instead of decaying bone
They get too close, see the cracks-
And sense me heart is composed of stone.

I live it up,
I laugh out loud
Just pretending
That I am proud.

But my tongue tastes of toxins,
There are holes across my skin
My fingernails are ragged, and
this veil is growing thin

They want to breathe like me
But the color isn't real
How could someone black and gray
hold this much appeal?

You see, they'll never quite understand
They'll never be entirely certain
Until I lie down early
And let the bigger hand close life's curtain