Hypocrite

I am not who you think I am
A secret life stored away
For those times when I am in hiding
Away from the glare of the lights

My life is filled with deceptions
A way of avoiding the truth
A means of delaying exposure
To the judges of all I do

How can I be myself
When I deny all that lives within me?
Why do I cling to the shadows of dreams
That I claimed to have had but not valued?
When all that I am is an image
Placed on me by someone on high
Or a close relation
I would like to retain

I confess here I’m a liar
A hypocrite, a deceiver, a fool
For decades pursuing a life
Not of my making
Not in my desires
Just a vain empty chase
For acceptance, prestige,
Without rules