For many years
It held me captive
It preyed upon my fears
And blackened my days

It veiled my mind
Giving false images
Making me blind
Hiding the truth

It presented a false reality
Into which I bought
My mind created a duality
One to show the world,

And the other my quiet hell,
Hidden from everyone
They could not tell,
What boiled within

I fought so hard
To get away
To make that last yard,
My legs would not carry me

Through all the illusions
I wandered as a malcontent
Coming to false conclusions
Hating myself, for what I wasn’t


JWN, April 10, 2005

The title is in your prose. My Quiet Hell