I am not going to be vulnerable before you

When you are going through a rough patch

You look for support to which you can latch

Sometimes it is a kind voice, a willing ear

That lets you overcome your fear

All the simmering resentment inside

You pour into this ear, you confide

All your woes and all your weaknesses too

You trust the other person would not betray you

*

You feel better, life goes on until one day

Your friend in a gathering decides to say

Something about you that you don’t want the world to know

And that gives to your trust a rude blow

Next time you would be more discerning, you decide

Before you let others know the thoughts you harbor inside

*

This competitive world is rough

To find a safe place to just be yourself is tough

When you expose your vulnerable side

You open the floodgates wide

For exploitation anytime by those

Who you as your confidants chose

By being burnt multiple times you realize

To express everything you feel is unwise

You learn to exercise restraint when you interact

You learn never to reveal your true feelings, in fact

*

The only lament I have here-

In hiding our vulnerabilities, we lose authenticity, I fear..