An impressive edifice of artifice.

A carefully constructed display of ‘okay.’

An architectural marvel, meticulously molded,

this fortified fortress of my face.

_‘She’d be smiling if the world was burning,’_

I detect the attempt at compliment.

They laugh like they don’t see the flames.

Increasingly heated, this facade I’ve needed,

Buckles under the strain of their gaze.

_‘The mask is slipping,’_

They whisper with practiced benevolence,

revealing thinly veneered malevolence.

I reaffix the bricks, curl the edge of my lips,

And stride right back in the blaze.