Hidden fears, unseen...unspoken. Concealed beneath masks...
🟥 Red for rage barely contained
🟦 Blue for sorrow that never sleeps
🟨 Gold for the illusion of joy
🟩 Green for envy masked as calm
🟪 Purple for truths too regal to reveal
Shadows linger beneath the mask
gloating with contradiction...
Porcelain lies...sculpted grin,
Mask wears light concealing borrowed skin.
Borrowed time.
underneath - silence grows -
A thousand shadows twist and pose.
Mimics joy, echoes pain,
They dance in mirrors, once soft and vain.
Each smile a veil, each glance a gate,
Truth and fiction congregate.
The mask protects, the mask deceives,
Hides the ghost that never leaves.
Yet in the dark, with no one near,
Shadows whisper what I fear...
The mask losing all its shades and hues...
becoming a colorless thing
🎭 Mask speaks of silence, shield, sanctuary.
They see it and think they know you.
*
Face breathes beneath the mask
wears grief like decoration.
You smile - it lies - I breathe.
*
Mask lies beautifully.
Once worn by queens and kings
Hiding bones which sang with pain.
It danced on faces of poets and painters
Those aching with pain and sorrow -
whose hearts were burdened, close to death.
*
Face
And yet they endured.
Frida painted through agony.
Mandela dreamed behind bars.
Rumi spun through longing.
Their masks cracked - but they did not shatter.
Mask
You are not broken.
You are tempered.
Steel hearts do not rust - they reflect.
Let me bear your burden a little longer.
*
Face
No.
Let them see the welds.
Let them hear the echo in my chest.
I will wear you not to hide,
but to honor the shadows I’ve survived.
*
Mask (softly):
Then let us walk together.
Not disguised -
but as truths, no longer wishing to be masked.
The face shifts - subtle, brow furrowed, softened gaze, a sorrowful downturn, and finally...a quiet smile. A layer of illusion revealed...
Letting truth emerge through the painted veneer.
I learn to accept that which I cannot change. Finding the wisdom to know the difference.
About the Creator
Novel Allen
You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. (Maya Angelou). Genuine accomplishment is not about financial gain, but about dedicating oneself to activities that bring joy and fulfillment.
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Comments (7)
Get it gurl You came through with the come through on this piece! So much strength in each word. This is like salve for the soul Novel! Thanks so much for sharing! 🫶🏾🥰💪🏾🎉
The lines shout pain and contradiction - the colors truth, but the last line brings it all together. Brava.
"Hiding bones which sang with pain." That was my favourite line! Loved your poem!
Love the coloured introduction and the conversation between the mak and the face enhanced with your poetic images. This has to be a Top Story
This is an outstanding piece 👏 👌 🩵💙💚💛🧡🩷❤️
Beautiful words! I love how it ends with the mask becoming something symbolic of survival rather than shame
"I learn to accept that which I cannot change. Finding the wisdom to know the difference." True peace.