Catch

so you will wait longer
for the moment when it catches
(up with) you:
the truth
you have hidden under your tongue
for so many years now

you paint lipstick in the morning
over lips you have not yet
even learned to love
and you are running
(from yourself
 and from the things you do not want
 to see in the mirror)

your feet are
bruised and bloody
pounding the cracked pavement
and you think you are being chased
by some monster with hooked teeth
who will shake your shoulders
and force you to admit
you are not
all that
special, really

but

here is what they do not tell you:
the truth is not hungry.
it does not want you to fall.
it waits, and it is not hook-toothed.

the truth will not sting or bite or crush
the truth does not rend or tear or demolish

it builds
and frees
and hurts like hell
and it will shout if it needs to
but it is also soft some days, and
it will speak to you gently
when you are tired

here is what they do not tell you:

the truth
will not
kill you.

it may be sunlight harsh
and it may stain your hands
and you will not be the same
once you invite it in

and likely, it will pull tears
down the slope of your nose and cheeks
maybe for weeks at a time
and your face may be drenched,
but the water is holy.
it will clean your skin.

the truth is not
that you are worthless.

the truth is
that you are radiant

and you must fight for yourself.

(you have been running
 from what you have been hiding
 for too long now

 perhaps it is time
 let it catch (up with) you.)