Being Transparent or Opaque: Life’s Toughest Choice

Be what you are or change according to the expectations of the world even though it is wrong?

Photo by Steinar Engeland on Unsplash

Do I stand tall in the light, where all can see,
Who I truly am, who I aim to be?
Or do I hide behind shadows, where I blur,
Changing my colors, as voices concur?

Transparent or opaque, which should I choose?
Be the real me, or bend to not lose?
Stand by my truth, though it’s hard to defend,
Or fade into a shape that the world might commend?

Should I speak the words that burn in my chest,
Knowing they might stir, disturb, and protest?
Or should I stay vague, with a smile that’s bent,
To fit into a world that’s far from content?

Transparent or opaque, the choice remains mine,
Do I stay in the light or fall in line?
For in being straight, I risk being alone,
Yet in being vague, I may lose my own tone.

In a world of masks, will I dare to stand clear,
Knowing that truth is a weapon I bear?
Or will I retreat, let the layers unfold,
Hiding myself in the stories untold?

Transparent or opaque, I stand at the gate,
Do I defy the world or bend to its weight?
For in being myself, there’s a strength I might find,
While losing the layers that blur my own mind.