I Am Real

Don't look at me,
For the person before you
Is not the one you want to see.
The person that I am
And the person the world wants me to be
Are very different.
One is real, broken, strong.
The other conforms
To society's demands.
Surprise,
I'm not perfect.
I have cracks in my soul,
And my heart is in pieces.
If you look,
You'll see who I am.
I am real,
I am real.
I have loved;
I have lost.
I know how it feels to stand,
Only to fall,
Again and again.
I know how it feels
To cry yourself to sleep.
I know how it feels
To watch your world crumble.
I know how to pick up the pieces,
I know how to save myself.
I know how to help you do the same.
For I am real,
I am alive,
I am raw and uncut.
I have been to Hell and back.
Forged in dragons' fire,
I am a tempered steel blade.
I have been forged, reforged,
And forged again.
The only way to make a diamond perfect
Is to cut it.
And I am real.
I will not fake who I am.
I will choose how much to show you.
But I am,
And always will be,
Real.
I am real.