The Mask I Wear

The Mask We Wear

I have worn this face for years.

It smiles though the heart is torn.

It carries the weight of silence.

It hides where the grief is worn.

I laugh when the world demands it.

I nod the crowd must be pleased.

But inside I hear the weeping,

That never has found release.

The mirror does not believe me.

It sees through the false disguise.

It reflects the ache of the hidden.

It gathers the sorrow in eyes.

The truth is too heavy for daylight.

Too raw for the world to know.

So I walk with my mask of comfort.

And bury the sorrow below.

There are nights the mask is fragile.

When silence begins to break.

But I mend it again by morning.

For the world is more than I can take.