Sam M's poem is about losing a sense of self. The speaker looks back at a time when happiness came easily, and compares it with a present where they hide their sadness. The opening lines are blunt: crying at night, in the shower, faking a smile. Those details make the pain feel private and ordinary, the kind of thing people carry around without telling anyone.
The repeated "once upon a time" works like a refrain, and it sets up a quiet irony. Fairy tales begin that way, yet here the phrase marks a happier past that has slipped away. The speaker says they used to be known by everyone and now only a few people know the "real me," which suggests loneliness and a gap between the face they show and how they feel. The ending turns the idea around: the speaker wishes life were a fairy tale, because then a "happily ever after" would be waiting. The mood is sad and wistful, but also honest, with a small trace of longing for hope.