I'm Dying Inside

I'm dying inside, a silent scream, Masked by mirth, a façade's deceitful dream. I laugh to conceal the anguish that gnaws, A desperate attempt to shield my crumbling laws. No pain, no gain, they say, but oh, the toll, A heavy heart, a weight that makes me old. I wear a cloak of calm, a disguise so fine, A refuge from the prying eyes that mine. I walk this tightrope, fragile and thin, A balancing act, lest I succumb to the spin. Pride's a shield, a flaky armor I don, A temporary reprieve, till the storm is gone. But oh, the ache, the desolate night, When shadows whisper truths, and I'm forced to confront the fight. No one sees the cracks, the fissures deep, Just a façade, a pretence, a soul asleep. I'm dying inside, a slow, suffocating demise, A prisoner of pride, afraid to vocalize. The pain is a tempest, wild and untamed, But who can I tell, and ask, "Am I to blame?" In this desolate landscape, I search for a spark, A glimmer of hope, a reason to embark. For in the darkness, I'll find my strength, A phoenix rising, reborn, with a new length.