The Mask Maker

“The Mask Maker”

I’m a master maker of masks
A mask for now, a mask for later
A mask for tomorrow and yesterday.
I am skilled in my craft.
You’ll never know what it’s like
To burrow beneath my flesh
And feel the coldness under
The current of hot blood
The blue lace of my veins.
The coldness is covered
By my perfect mask
So perfectly crafted
To mask the pain.
No, no one would suspect
Or at least I don’t suspect they do,
Suspect that there’s another me
Under this happy mask
A me that’s torn in two
And too cold to introduce to the world
Too fragile to expose to the open air.
She will rust.
She will tarnish.
She will crumble and fall.
I take pride in my work,
My crafting of masks.
I do it for me,
I do it for you.
For if I were to take off my mask
You wouldn’t like what you see
And you couldn’t bear the bitter cold
Couldn’t take
The hollow empty me.