Keeping It Real

Let me rewind the time, back to my teenage haze,

When "keeping it real" was the motto, etched in my younger days,

The whole school, was speaking truths, or so we thought we did,

From the corner store  to the hallway that was the creed,

Every interaction, plantin' that " keep it real" seed,

Talking crazy, standing tall, no room for the fake,

Every word, a declaration, for goodness sake.

Strangers on the street, eyes meet, a nod, a glare,

Have to be authentic, have to show them that I care about my image,

Every situation, a test, a chance to prove my worth,

This facade of realness, rooted deep within my earth,

Of my ego, my insecurity, a tightrope walk I trod,

Trying to impress the masses, trying to play the role of God in my own little world.

But then the years rolled by, the lines began to blur,

That "realness" I was clinging to, started to feel like a slur,

A liability, a burden, a constant, gnawing fear,

Of saying the wrong thing, of showing something insincere,

To the ones who mattered, the ones who truly saw,

The cracks beneath the armor, the flaws in my flawed law.,

The danger amplified, when that pressure started to build,

To be perfectly imperfect, when the world stood still... and judged.

Now my has focus shifted, the compass spun around,

That outward projection, no longer makes a sound,

That I can hear, that I can heed, that I can truly trust,

It's an echo chamber, filling up with dust,

My priorities realigned, a paradigm shift within,

The true north star, where my journey must begin,

It's God I'm trying be real with, the architect's design,

Before I even glance back, at this flawed self of mine.

The face in the mirror, no filter, no disguise,

Seeing the mistakes, the stumbles, the weary eyes,

And that's enough, truly enough, to satisfy the soul,

To be honest with the Creator, to make myself feel whole,

Because when you're real with the Divine, and real with your own core,

The rest of it just fades, you don't need it anymore,

The validation from the crowd, a hollow, fleeting sound,

Keeping it real with God and myself, that's where true peace is found.