Masked
We are all sinners,
?Marked by quiet guilts
?We tuck beneath our ribs.?
The only difference is?
How sweetly we excuse ourselves?
While pointing trembling fingers
?At another broken soul.
We polish our halos,?
Pretend they gleam,?
Pretend we are untouched—
?Yet deep inside,?
A devil paces in the dark,
?A creature we refuse to name.
We call ourselves flawless?
Only because we lack the courage?
To kneel before our own truth.?
The light we claim to carry?Never reaches every corner—
?Some rooms stay locked,?
Dusty with silence,
?Heavy with the stench of what we hide.
And maybe it’s fear—
?Fear of the shadow lurking within,?
Fear of the chaos it could wake,?
Fear that one slip,?
One crack in our mask,?
Would let the darkness spill
?Until it drowns the last good in us.
What if it grows stronger??
What if we become the monster?
We only whispered about?
?What if one day?We cannot bear
?To look our reflection in the eye?
I lived there, listening
In the turmoil of the trailer park
For many years, through tears
Time passed by as I watched people
Move in and out, in and out
Never staying there for too long
I wonder where they’ve all gone
The moments ticked on, moving
Across second hands, along the lines
Of goodbyes and lost ties that leave
The heart feeling like it has a gap
Where the blood might leak out
I drifted to sleep at night
After whispering prayers
Huddled behind my quiet peace
There was a silent scream
Echoing through my soul without control
Not once did I dream
Of the laughter
Laughter that
Would come when
I let go of the past
How many times have I thought
Of reaching for the phone
I’ve given you my heart
But you conquered my mind
I’m in a quasi state of trance
I live only for our moments together
I merely survive from a meeting to the next
It’s totally out of perspective
I no longer have control
How can I be so foolish
I must be falling in love
How can I be so blind
I have so very fallen in love
AP: Honorable Mention 2022
Submitted on February 2, 2019 for contest EARLY FEBRUARY 2019 sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 1ST
I’m trying to stay in control
I’ve lost so much of me today
Please someone tell me it’s ok
I’m not as strong, I’m feeling weak
My heads spinning, no heart left to hold
The masks I wear hide all my pain
I’m praying for me to stay afloat
Not wanting this world to cause me to sink
To see this pain in my eyes I do hide
Remove this mask, tears fall like rain
Put it to the side, don’t run and hide
Won’t try and scare you away, please stay
All this misery, I’ve kept it locked up
Just come closer to me, you will see
The real me, locked up far away
Deep inside becoming hostile
So light of spirit
Yet dark in whole
Can you hear it
I lost control
To be so good
But feel so bad
Do what I should
I should be glad
I lost my mind
But found my heart
I was so blilnd
Yet off the chart
To see the me
That you do see
There is a fee
To get the key
Unlock the chain
That bars my way
To free my brain
From the decay
Releasing bonds
That set me free
A quick response
I need to see
Shift my pattern
From dark to light
Off to the tavern
To you goodnight
no physical pain can match the pain in the
soul
failing the one and only task
mentally tortured day after today
this mind is a burden that must be bore
thoughts free flowing like a raging river
continuing ever so endlessly down the
same path
will the source of this pain ever be
changed
the river cuts deeper and deeper trail
as time goes the side of the thinks is lost
current forcing further to places on know
reaching for something just to hold on
nothing strong enough to hold drifting
further along
treading water arms are begining to tire
hoping someone will reach down with a
helping hand
some just ignore and some watch until the
distance is too great
struggling and alone is how this will end
without love the future looks bleak
I fell in love when I met you,
You had me at “Hello”,
You stole my heart in an instant,
So much for taking it slow;
I tried so hard to resist you,
But I guess we were meant to be,
I was never one to fight my fate,
You are the one for Me;
When destiny called I threw in my hand,
And gave you the key to my heart;
I love you with everything that I have,
It’s been that way from the start;
Just one look that was all it took,
To make me fall so hard;
I hit the ground like a ton of bricks,
And finally let down my guard;
Something in your big blue eyes,
Captured my very soul;
And one thing that I’m sure of now,
I’m glad I lost control!
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