How are you?

I'm tired of answering the question, "how are you?",
Because it's fed in my mind that the answer needn't be true.
It just ought to be, "I am fine, I am good",
No matter how stormy I am within, however is my mood.

Why can't I just say, "it was a bad day",
Or that, "I am trying but things aren't going my way".
Why can't we normalize saying "I'm broken, shaken, weakened, depressed, stressed", or that "I need a hug"?
And the person on the other side, who just wanted to break the ice, doesn't do much and accepts it with a shrug.

Times are tough and sometimes venting out is the therapy,
Tell them you're not okay and that life is getting crappy.
Don't be scared of their reactions or thoughts that will follow,
Atleast, you'll say what is within and not feel hollow!

Now, I really want to know what is true,
I genuinely want to know, how are you?