I hide my face that grins and lies
Behind a mask to disguise
There she cries
In the shadow of their religion
I have been uninvited
Torn and bleeding
As they pass on by with their tries
Why should the world see such a mess
Witness all my tears
and sighs
Avoid my cries
Shun the story behind
my eyes
My damage is an unattractive story
Thus the hiding behind
a mask
Have I fallen short
from glory
Perhaps I lie in purgatory
~
My eyes have grown sad
As you’ve reminded me I am less
Punish me for my sickness
In order to protect your Mossad
I have abandoned myself
In order to please you
It is high time I address this mess
And place this mask upon this shelf.
You may tell me you love me
Yet when I peel back this mask
Some will see your love is unjustified
You never ask…
too quick to dismiss
naive to this task
You have betrayed me with a kiss
You avoid my face
Punish me… forgetting grace
Seemingly I am undeserving of mercy
Gutted by your betrayal
My secrets are not the holy grail
It’s not your job to protect them
justice should not be derailed
I’m terrified to fail
Is the aftermath too gruesome to bear?
My childhood trauma too much to share
The recent shock to sickening to speak
Am I too frail
too much to inhale
You have seemed to pick up a mask yourself
You look at my face and can’t comprehend
Speak to me as if nothing happened
I am speechless myself
You remain silent, is it easier to pretend
What are you afraid the world would see
by loving me?
What do you think the world will perceive
by knowing all of me?
Will they realize the masks you preconceive
have devastated me?
Will they forgive my own mistakes?
draw a line in the sand for me?
What would they feel knowing the heartbreaking aches
from the torment that became of me?
What would they believe when they hear my sins trumped a disgust
that bruised me?
Perhaps they will wonder why judgment has been so unjust
and mercy never covered me?
I hear my creator whispering,
“Be free
I have a legacy
For thee
Peel back the mask
I know it’s a task
You have a face“
(Oh wait… I have a face)?
“Yes, My child I created you just the way it’s meant to be
Open your voice
sing as you may:
Beneath your feet stand up to the day
Let the world
dream otherwise
don’t let them get in
your way
Never bow your head in their shame that sways
Don’t abandon who I made
you to be
Remember I made you
this way
My grace covers you
My mercy saturates
your mind
My spirit guides you
Listen to my voice
Come into my hiding place
Let me see the beauty of your face
See the beauty of the day
I have created a world for you
Just like I have created you for the world
You have a face
I will keep you safe
Remove the mask
Live at last
You have not been misplaced
Say it with conviction”
“I have a face”
Poem Reading –
I refuse to be faceless any more to the world… I’ve removed the mask of shame and fear. This is the perfect song for this poem… if you have time… I hope you enjoy…
bittersweet,
inviting words, very enjoyable reading.
Happy Potluck!
:)
Wow, you’re not alone, my friend. We all have our mask’s but I think poetry can help us peel them away. Beautiful write.
thank you thank you so much! I think you are right about poetry and helping us peel the mask off…
I love what you wrote on what God speaks to you. So loving and true.
I loved this I know what its like to wear masks and carry around terrible disfiguring secrets but only in revealing yourself do you give people the chance to love you. I am glad to see smiling again you are beautiful inside and out! Amazing
Awww now isn’t that better! That mask can get really heavy! So proud of you for taking it off! What an amazing woman you are!
~L, it has been quite the journey getting to this place, hasn’t it? But worth it, I’m sure. it is awesome to see your beautiful face with such a radiant smile. You look so full of life. And you have so much life to live! :-)
Thank you! The journey is… was… and will be
Thanks for your lovelyness :)
Beautiful. Each of us is atleast two-faced if not multi-faced, i feel. We try very hard in this life to portray one face, that, we dont realise that we lose essence of what the true face is all about, is “not to try to show it so hard”. It is what it is. Hence, in all the trying, we end up showing up that “other” face, and unknowningly, we make it our true face. Just my personal thoughts.
i like the strength this ends on…we do have a face beyond what has happened to us or what we have done…and when we find those willing to accept us for it it makes it all the more special…
there was something wrong with your link at dverse…fixing it now…
Thank you for you extremely kind comment! …and thanks for fixing my link:) I love computers but they don’t not love me… matter affect I don’t let my kids say the word ‘stupid’ but I tell them it’s okay for mommy to say it just to the computer:) LOL
The fear that keeps us hiding is actually worse than showing our face to the world…good, bad, ugly..however we humans show up in the world. Writing and sharing myself has helped peel those layers of fear away too. A work in progress…
Thanks for daring to share! xo
i agree with you 100% You are very welcome… I think sharing it sometimes lets it go and it begins the healing process.
sometimes not easy to put down the mask…but there’s so much strength in your writing..good to come to the point where we refuse to hide any longer.. esp. loved …I have created a world for you
Just like I have created you for the world.. this sums up his amazing grace and love in the most beautiful way..
mmmm…. Thank you, Claudia! Your words are kind and you are right about His amazing grace and love… it is in the most beautiful way:)
Beautiful, L! You are who you are, and a mask won’t hide the truth.
http://charleslmashburn.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/the-sun-came-up-again-4/
:) …thanks Charles!
“I have created a world for you
Just like I have created you for the world”
beautifully inspiring poem. glad that the mask of false facade we wear all the time has been thrown away by you :)
and the song… ahh… it AWESOME(the video on your page is not working though. i had to watch it on you tube)
“who are you to tell me that i’m less than what i should be?” wonderful lyrics. thanks for adding yet another beautiful song in my playlist!!!
Oh, kirti!!!! If you only knew… if you only knew!!! I was sitting here on my couch with my iPad in my hands with several pages opened with several writings… not finishing one… crying… feeling blah and sorry for myself… and then i read your comment and your kindness influenced me to smile within… I felt loved… you have brought me a bit of joy… I better hurry up and go to bed now so I can take that feeling with me and perhaps it will carry on into my dreams tonight.
You are so very lovely… and I still wish I could comment on your blog but for the life me it’s rejecting all my comments and I can’t figure it out! I am SO GLAD you like the songs;) I will have to add more:)
cyber hugs to you:)
~L
This work is beautiful, I also like the fact that you added the audio with it to understand the flow. I am doing the same with the audio just trying to get it right. Get me more… :-)
Why, Thank you Mr Blaque! I was hesitant to do audio because I am not all that down with my speaking voice… but it’s me:) what you hear is what you get:) I will check you out and see how that audio is coming along:)
~L
I love your writing…its beautiful and honest. I nominated you for the candle lighter award…the details are on my page….
http://myraysoflight.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/in-a-world-of-darkness-light-a-candle/
Peace and blessings to you
I enjoyed every bit, every rhythm…yeah you are absolutely right, creator has given us “beautiful face and we a have face,”…no need to mask but show to the world, whoever cruel be!
“Why should the world see such a mess
Witness all my tears
and sighs
Avoid my cries
Shun the story behind
my eyes”
beautifully written from your beautiful heart.
I too have worn the mask of secrets…So much of the time people want only a smiling facade. They don’t want or care what is behind it. A powerful poem!
I believe we all have worn a mask a time or two… The power lies in our courage to take it off and let the world’s view effect our soul. Thank you for your comment… it provoked some more good thinking on my part:)
~L
Troubled words– I hope you are well.
getting there… some days are better than others… moment by moment…
its true that every one here has a mask!
but living without has its own fun and creativity.there is a lot to explore out there and i am highly motivated by your write up!
great work!
“highly motivated” :) wow, :) Thank you! Thanks for sharing your kind words:)
~L
The journey can be long but, eventually, there is light at the end of the road.
May your days be filled with deep cleansing.
Blessings,
Isadora
Thanks again! Today has been a good day… I suppose cleansing could be the adjective to describe it:)
WOW i am short of words for this…Its just beautiful…
Each time I want to give up writing, i remember why poetry is so beautiful…And after reading this, I know exactly why I love writing…Thanks for that…Brilliant of all I have read..
Never give up on writing… we all go through times when words just don’t come… keep writing… keep writing ;) Thank you so very much for sharing your kind thoughts with me. You brought a smile to me this morning and remind me too, why I need to keep writing. I humbly thank you for reading, liking this poem and for taking the time to let me know.
~L
This is great! Very wise words… We are all human beings and we all do make mistakes, we shouldn’t thus be ashamed of our humanity. And if we accept and love ourselves, we’ll also be able to bring more love to the world. :)
Accepting who we are does bring more love to the world… boy is that a journey. I keep falling from that truth. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me today:)
~L
It needs courage to be who we are..Accept my standing ovation and sound applause for this poetry..Removing mask to see the beautiful self..
” I hear my creator whispering,
“Be free
I have a legacy
For thee
Peel back the mask
I know it’s a task
You have a face“
(Oh wait… I have a face)?
“Yes, My child I created you just the way it’s meant to be”
It’s worth reading daily once..Thanks for share friend..
Thank your so much for your kind comment. …all the support from my readers influence me to believe in self love and not criticize myself so much. I appreciate you taking the time to share with me your thoughts; truly!
~L
Hiding behind the mask, sometimes for me being behind the mask I feel much safer seeing as I’m a very private person. This was such a relatable poem.