I wear the mask that grins and lies,
It lies to hide my awful eyes,
It grins to mask my pitted skin,
The sight of which kills lesser men.
I may look sad, I may look cold,
But if the mask were backwards-rolled,
I'd stand yet changeless before thee,
In dear-bought truth, the mask wears me.
It lies to hide my awful eyes,
It grins to mask my pitted skin,
The sight of which kills lesser men.
I may look sad, I may look cold,
But if the mask were backwards-rolled,
I'd stand yet changeless before thee,
In dear-bought truth, the mask wears me.
1 comment:
Haha... it is a big problem! We have many many roles in life, with conflicting requirements... which do we follow--and who are 'we'? So often we act different according to roles (though we do not accept every norm) which leaves the question... who's doing the acting?
Actually I'm doing some reflections on this here.. http://tinandcopper.livejournal.com/
It DOES seem to be a fad though, or at least something popular to do. Francis Schaeffer spoke of the "plastic culture", CSLewis asked how we could meet the gods until we have faces, and in various parts of recent history and modern lit, there is this pervading desire for the authentic. Whatever it is. I'm reading 'The Students and the Revolution' by Rudi Dutschke, a speech in March 1968. Student revolutions, of course. I sense the same desire here--though the focus is on how society is pressuring students to further captialism (i.e. become more efficient, work harder for less, etc).
The question of masks and identity raises some pretty staggering questions. What is real? What isn't? Whom do I listen to?
And your poem is awesome. lol.
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