The Mask We Promised To Wear

in a world where our words aren't promises
make them so
and never say something you do not mean
or claim a belief that you're not convinced of
"hypocrite" is Greek for actor
or at least it used to mean that
the men that run around wearing different faces each night
but that only works onstage
it's said that "all the world's a stage"
but in truth there's only one show
and we each have one part to play
        ourselves
so why do we change masks so often?
why do we pay heed to the lie that we play more parts than one?
this part is one that we can play how we like
a grand stage of improvisation
but it's still one part
      one mask
      one face
so when you speak your words, mean them
for in a world where words aren't promises
we must make them so