Mask of Loneliness
*Author's note. This one was inspired by some lovely yet sad pics by the artist destinyblue. This was very sad and emotional for me to write. Here's the pics that inspired this. Hope you enjoy the poem.
http://t01.deviantart.net/PT4gysSpsSUExkUce60aKwsl3Ps=/300x200/filters:fixed_height(100,100):origin()/pre03/49a7/th/pre/i/2012/292/f/4/behind_the_smile_____by_destinyblue-d5ibfov.jpg
http://t06.deviantart.net/OR87RThVOWvGdS2hbtAXGDJeVmI=/300x200/filters:fixed_height(100,100):origin()/pre02/50ab/th/pre/i/2012/197/4/6/i__m_fine___lineart_by_destinyblue-d4yvarw.jpg
http://destinyblue.deviantart.com/art/Depression-534485738
What do we see when we look at people?
Oft times people say seeing is believing
Yet what they see most is but a mask
A stoic impassive face, seemingly emotionless
A gentle smile that doesn't reach the eyes
A quiet gentle voice saying I'm okay
We oft take these at face value
And believe the lie of the mask
But what would happen I wonder
If we were to dig a little deeper
And watch a little longer
What I have seen too oft
As I've searched a little deeper
Is a lonely heart beneath
The exterior mask they wear
They might be saying "I'm alright"
In a quiet tender voice.
Yet as I've watched them carefully
I've seen a trembling hand.
The mask hides our deepest hurts
And our most bitter memories.
They say on the outside "I'm okay."
When inside they're saying "Save me."
Tis the world that teaches us
To hide behind the mask
Boys are told while very young
“Big boys don’t cry”,
“Crying is weakness”,
Girls are told while still a child
“Crying is manipulative”,
“Don’t cry, they’ll laugh at you”
What we most fear as little ones
Is the mocking jests and jeers
Of the people around us
We learn to keep our tears inside
And say within ourselves in pain
“Maybe tomorrow will be a better day”
Thus we see the sad tale
Of a world filled with people
Being taught to wear
The mask of loneliness
I pray that we may have the eyes to see
Beneath that cheerful mask
And see that lonely soul inside
That needs a friend, a kind word spoken
And that we may have the ears to hear
The painful cries of the soul beneath
When they say the words “I’m fine.”
Copyright © Caleb Lawrence | Year Posted 2016
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