I'm upset that FP won't allow you to post with tabbed formatting, but I have broken the lines in the same places they were tabbed in the original piece. It still has a similar effect.

I've written this to be read out loud, but quietly, pausing at the end of each line (even if the line is one word.)

If you can hold

it

back

I will not make

you

hurt

You will not feel

ashamed

of you

I understand

right

now

That you have pain,

frustration

and something rotten

Inside of you head

Inside of your heart

But if you show it

to

the

world

To the public

we

are

in

Right now

frustration

I will kill you with

self

hatred

And disgust

and denial

more hurt

Than you can handle

And I will dare you

to try and stop me

if you can

Because if you

are sick

enough to

Shed

your tears

in front

of others

Then why shouldn’t

you lose

your mind

for them

too?

It’s all the same

to me.

Sincerely,

Your Shame

P.S.

Don’t Forget

Everyone, at some point or another, either has or will soon face a situtation where they feel the urge (one they cannot fight) to cry--in public. This poem was written during one of these times for me, to try and concentrate on something else to hold it back. It worked.