Unknown to Others

Unknown to Others

I gather my fears together
and polish them to a golden sheen
with a bright forced smile.
The ruse works well.
Others look at me
and know no difference.
But I do.
The fear of all that encircles me,
all that is outside
and threatens to come in,
holds me bitter bound
under my skin.

 

Cynthia Pitman

I am a retired high school English teacher. I began writing again this past summer after a 30-year hiatus. I have recently had poetry published in Vita Brevis, Postcard Poems and Prose, Right Hand Pointing, Ekphrastic Review, Literary Yard, Amethyst Review, Adelaide Literary Magazine, Three Line Poetry, Leaves of Ink, Third Wednesday, and Mused. I have had fiction published in Red Fez, Saw Palm: Florida Literature and Art and Dual Coast Magazine. My first poetry collection, The White Room, is forthcoming from Kelsay Books.