SHAIRI 014

The Mask of Innocence

Bitterness wears the mask of innocence
and points before it looks within.
It calls every boundary betrayal,
every silence proof,
every mirror an enemy.

But pain can turn a wound outward,
making villains of those nearby
so it never has to name
what it carries alone.

Healing begins
when the hand releases the stone
and asks,
“What pain in me
have I been calling you?”

Not every hurt is imagined—
but not every blame is truth

Cosimo von Batie