Masquerade

Masks

I wear so many they're all so heavy

They hurt my back and strain my neck

But matters not any pain I feel

Layer them on, more masks to wear

I don't care

I dance through the grey ballroom

Across this ugly stage of living and life

I look so beautiful to all my onlookers

My masks are all they see tonight

But that's alright

For one I met, I tried to show, one dancer I felt was equal to me

Together we danced the salsa and a brief tango

And in some moment of passion, I lost my mind

I started shedding masks along the floor

Like a fool

This masquerade has gone on too long

Eighteen years of dancing to boring songs

I can see through all their masks, as I swayed on by

But just this once, I wanted to show what I held inside

Tears I cried

Off came my mask of steel that everyone saw

I showed her that I wasn't impervious to pain

I wanted to be human, but it hurt to be such

So I became this ugly Golem that no one could harm

I left it behind

Next were the scarves I wore to lure others in

Of confidence, generosity, and charm

The things that hide who we really are

And through the air they fluttered to the ground

One by one

The seasoned tongue and sweet smile

The falseness about my eyes

I shed the masks all around as we danced

The weight lifting, those fake things started to be real

What irony

My head held high, strong from all the masks

And I felt beautiful without the need to wear them

I felt human, accepting my weakness

And I felt love, because she kept dancing with me

Such petty things

I was almost there, one last one

To give myself over completely

I held my breath and waited for the time

But then she went and left me

Alone

Just one last mask I had to wear

Before I showed you all of me

You were my favourite, my special one

How could you callously leave

I'm ashamed

That one mask quivered, cracking in half

And salty rain fell from the eyes

And so it smiled as it's always done

That winning grin that always lies

Broken inside

So the dance is done and partners have switched

But not enough dancers exist on the floor

So I sway slowly along, to a beat of my own

Returning down the way we came

So ugly now

I walk every step, like footprints in the sand

But as I do they disappear, as if Then never began

And I grab the masks I left behind since they're all I have

And I lock away that time we had, and throw it in the sea

Sinking to the bottom

I dance this masquerade I don't even want to attend

Without passion, refreshment, or friend

No one to mingle with and no one to dance

Using the one thing that you left for me

I make another mask