Skin

The skin that I'm in
Definitely isn't mine
It itches and it bunches
And it doesn't really fit.
Since when was I so pale?
Was that freckle always there?
I don't remember all these scars...
These feelings just won't sit.

Uncomfortable and stiff
This cannot belong to me.
I can't seem to get it off,
As desperate as I am.
With hands cold and face hot,
My fingers tremble as they search
For some buttons or a zipper
But the thought is just a sham.

It's just a false hope
One I hung on to
With nothing to back it up
Nor nothing proven real.
However as I give up
Something catches my eye,
There's a little corner flipped up
At the bottom of my heel

Enticed, I slowly peel away
The layers of my hardened shell
And slowly, oh so slowly,
Reveal the real me hiding below.
Finally exposed,
Who I really am begins to shine.
Not who I've pretended to be,
But the one no one really knows.

With a smile on my face
My former self did lack,
I happily  leave behind
What used to hold me back.