Camouflage
By John Herlihy

Everybody has a certain gift and I have mine;
What people wish to hide does in my eyes shine.
I see through the veils of people’s camouflage,
The glitter of a false personality as a corsage.
In their eyes what they worry and dream about,
In their mouths what they lack and shout about.
A psycho-therapist suffers from tinnitus of the ear,
30 years listening to people’s afflictions and fear.
A teacher who ends up suffering poverty of soul,
Giving his heart away that students from him stole.
A writer who fears that he has become a hack,
Unable to finally realize what he may truly lack.
A politician who wins the vote by selling his soul,
Without realizing he will never again be fully whole.
The mannerism, body language, gestures and ticks,
All add up to insecurities to burn down life’s wicks.
Eyes of course are the light that give people away,
Shifty, fitful and vague, they never in one place stay.
The mouth takes second place with its false smile,
Followed by crookedness, sneers as a form of guile.
As for myself, my only camouflage is false modesty,
Fooling everyone into thinking of it as frank honesty.