Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Masks We Wear

Masks are things I put on the outside
To show other people,
Or maybe to show to myself when I look in the mirror.

Heh, mirrors are interesting, too aren't they?
For another time, though.

Sometimes I become the mask.
Or, does the mask become me?

What if,
Each mask was already an inherent part of myself
that I choose to let out now and again?

All the faces are one.
The One has many face-ts.

2 comments:

Nataraj Hauser said...

Missy,

You might be interested in the (somewhat disturbing) book "When Rabbit Howls" by Truddi Chase and the Troops. The author has multiple personalities (like 80 of them) and has a 'gatekeeper' who cycles an appropriate persona to the fore when needed. Like putting on the correct mask. Except, of course, for the terrible trauma that so fractured her psyche. Anyway, it's what popped into my head when I saw this post.

I got here while backtracking a visitor to my blog, eyeDance

Father Johnny Dee said...

Hi Missy, thought I would come check this out after your post on the group, nice blog! Masks (and mirrors) I find fascinating, here is my favorite poem about masks from Paul Dunbar;

We Wear the Mask

WE wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.


We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!