This is my all time favorite poem. It’s such a cool picture of how I, and many others, live so long behind the picture of who others expect us to be, and the journey to live as God created us instead.
I keep my paint brush with me
Wherever I may go,
In case I need to cover up
So the real me doesn’t show.
I’m so afraid to show you me,
Afraid of what you’ll do
That you might laugh or say mean things.
I’m afraid I might lose you.
I’d like to remove all my paint coats
To show you the real, true me,
But I want you to try and understand,
I need you to accept what you see.
So if you’ll be patient and close your eyes,
I’ll strip off all my coats real slow.
Please understand how much it hurts
To let the real me show.
Now my coats are all stripped off.
I feel naked, bare, and cold,
And if you still love me with all that you see,
You are my friend, as pure as gold.
I need to sae my paint brush, though,
And hold it in my hand.
I want to keep it handy
In case somebody doesn’t understand.
So please protect me, my dear friend,
And thanks for loving me true,
But please let me keep my paint brush with me
Until I love me too.
– Bettie B Young
Dance With Me 
I first read this poem in a book and have loved it ever since. This was motivation for me to be who i am and not worryabout who may or may not like it. I was very depressed when i was in middle and high school and everytime i would think things were never going to get better i would read this poem. For me it was a reminder that I was in control of my life even though I was in a situation I could not control. all i could do was become a better person from the bad experiences in my life. I was very quiet and reserved almost afraid to open up to anyone because I thought that everyone everywhere was going to judge me for what they thought they saw. On the outside i was a completely different person than what I was on the inside. Now i am graduating college in a couple weeks and i am doing much better. thank you for sharing this poem in a sense it changed my life in many simple ways that became big changes over time.
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