The Mask

I stand here quietly and show you only what I think you want to see,

I hide my true feelings behind this mask of invisibility.

I watch, I listen,

I trust no one but myself,

and even then I wonder

will I betray this mask I wear so conveniently.

I show no anger, remorse, emotion, or pain

tears fall inside me, cascade like a quiet rain.

I do not feel happiness, or joy,

only the pain of you leaving me,

the pain of being a toy.

I look inside myself and see the clarity of it all,

I wear the mask to hide

To hide from it all.

As life piles on more than my shoulders can bear,

I grab for the mask to wear.

The shield protects me

of having to feel at all,

it is with the Mask ,

that I can live …

that I live at all.

-------Sherry

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