Beneath The Gilded Mask

There is a gilded mask worn only over saddened eyes

A mask with one sole purpose: its owner to disguise

Gold and shaped to appear like wings outstretched in flight

To hide the face of a person deep within a darkened night

Feathers splayed out from a shadowed and hollow expression

Hidden deep within, a soul left with only one possession

A heart that may refuse to beat for a moment longer than it must

A mind so bruised it can no longer see why it ever desired to trust

They don the gilded mask in quiet moments of despair

A mask meant only to conceal the anguish that is truly there

But it is not solely anguish that the gilded mask can eclipse

It ensconces offense and hate, and angry words behind tight lips

Veiled fury and cold hearts too can the gold mask stifle

But the mask when worn too long becomes but a simple trifle

A thinning shroud no longer able to conceal the corpse beneath

'Til it is shown, a rictus grin, bare bones and rotting teeth

Emotions in full view of the world, greeted by disgust and fear

Though safety and love is all they desire, they cannot find it here

Skeletons run from the closet to the crypt where none shall ever expose

Everything they attempted to bury, their fears and griefs and woes

There is a flimsy gilded mask worn over saddened eyes

A mask with one sole purpose: its owner to disguise

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