Hidden From View

It was an unintentional project
An interest in an invisible world
A simple question with a larger impact

So many people have hidden lives.
Things you would never guess by looking at them.

I am sure you have your own secret

And they did
Usually it started with little sins
I listened carefully and validated their perspective
Devastated later, but out of view.

I didn’t know the kind door I was opening.
I didn’t fully understand why they were hiding so much.

She said it wasn’t that hard and she needed the money
“I never told my family and I never will.”
“I guess we had each other for support,”she said
“but I always knew I would leave and find something better.”

He talked about the disease
How his face had changed to foreshadow the future
‘A living skull’ he told me
which means ‘I should already be dead’

He told me about the meds.
The ones that helped him hold onto a piece of reality.
The world was a groggy gray now but better than the alternative

She told me about the drugs
Finally feeling beautiful and wanted.
Even fleeting moments are memories, she said.

She told me about the car accident
On a continuous cycle
The guilt had not diminished after 25 years.

The curtain was pulled away, and in a way, we were all exposed

‘you know’ they said. ‘I don’t know why I am telling you …’