Masks

 

Have you noticed all the masks
That people have been wearing?
Not the ones of padded cotton
People wear into a store,
Nor the ones that doctors wear,
But the one that you
And I pull on around a crowd.
Oh, they are very easy
To pick out in a room-
When those about us try to hide their pain,
Cover tears and swollen eyes,
Pretending that their needs do not exist.
How I long to pull the mask down,
Look into their eyes
And tell them that I really, truly care.
 
And yet
I often do not realize
There is not one
But two
Masks that stand between us-
Theirs
And mine.
 
For you see,
I am often just as scared as they;
Afraid my love will be unwanted,
Thrown to the floor and laughed at,
Left lying there in little pieces-
Little pieces of my heart upon the ground.
 
And so-
You and I continue hiding.
Masking up our imperfections,
Putting bandages on vulnerablilities
That slip somehow, unbidden,
Through disguise.
Taking to the dance floor
Of our lives with forced laughter
When really we are aching,
Long to help,
Be there when they cry.
 
And doing so we miss our chance
To show them that we care
Because we are afraid of our own perceived ugliness,
When opening up our hearts
Could be the balm
That heals another’s soul.
 
So here’s to taking off my mask,
And helping others find as well
Their own beauty when they dare
To go without.