EVA

Cursed with delusions of such grandeur,
your life was a work of art
forged from the low self-esteem
that tortured the depths of your heart.

With such aplomb you wore your masks
that disguised the authentic you
for days and months and years even,
until you believed them true.

With past retold of a noble birth,
you rubbed shoulders with the elite
and even moved in circles Royal -
they all found you "oh so sweet."

Yet just below the surface bubbled
of discovery such a terror -
what if they should find you out
and realise their error?

So you pretended even harder and
still deeper buried the truth,
for the worst thing you could ever conceive
was to incur your idols' reproof.

But you looked and acted the part so well
that no one could ever guess
this beautiful and elegant socialite
was an orphan and penniless.

Still the pressure of keeping the lie alive
was building up deep inside
and daily threatening to erupt,
so at times you'd vanish and hide.

Then when you hit forty it all imploded
and you suffered a breakdown because
your past caught up with you and exposed
the Earl's daughter who never was.