Plastic Faces: A Poem, Hiding Our Pain

masquerade masks

Pretty plastic faces
hide our hurting, secret places
but if you look too close, you can see the wear

Cracks around our eyes
don’t show through our smiling lies
we become players in a masquerade affair

We show up at each scene
hit all the steps, know the routine
weighed down with a burden no one knows is there

We curtsey and we bow
summon enough strength somehow
gliding past their eyes, no sign of despair

To keep emotions from betraying
the music must keep on playing
standing without moving would be standing bare

When faces are revealed
we keep ours secretly concealed
plastic faces fit so well, they are unaware