DID I?

Have you ever walked alone
someone calls your name
Suddenly you feel a fear
igniting endless shame

You need a place to hide
anywhere at all
You walk a little faster
again you hear their call

Your thoughts begin to race
you think about past days
Did I hurt this person
please just go away

Did I join in gossip
exaggerating lies
Laughing at their pain
to better my disguise

Did I break a promise
I knew I wouldn't keep
Have I not yet learned
to look before I leap

Is this guilt so haunting
I cannot turn to talk
The more I hear my name
the faster I must walk

I've come to bear a heavy load
shame has weighed me down
Paralyzed by paranoia
I fear the smallest sound

A prisoner within myself
fearing who'll I'll see
Never learning from mistakes
will never set me free

If I must stay silent
when gossip comes my way
I'll hold my head up high
with nothing more to say

I'll never make a promise
a promise is a guess
I can't predict the future
although I try my best

If I feel content inside
it's then I will be free
I will not feel I have to live
on people's misery

By:Terri Lynn Vienneau 101
Written: 4/09/2002 Kaleidoscope Ghetto