This Is Why I Mask: A Poem
Cordelia Cross
Mar 10, 2025 03:42
0
I mask my emotions, I fake a smile,
Slip into a role, walk the extra mile.
It's what must be done, a duty ingrained,
To keep those around me happy, restrained.
Yet every joy, every fleeting delight,
Has been shadowed, smothered, stolen from sight.
Told I’m unworthy, told I’m to blame,
Or scarred by abuse in its many forms of shame.
When someone shows care, I begin to believe,
A fleeting comfort in the love I receive.
But they lull me in, then snatch it away,
When I fail to give all they demand that day.
I give them my all—my effort, my breath,
Yet they return a fraction, a hollow caress.
The moment I feel okay, accepted, loved,
It’s stripped from me swiftly, like a cruel shove.
I hurt in my body, I ache in my soul,
A relentless weight, taking its toll.
But I bury it deep, I cover the pain,
To keep up appearances, to feign I’m sane.
Family and friends, their love feels untrue,
Given conditionally—what they can accrue.
So I wear this mask, a protective guise,
To shield my heart, to weather their lies.
This is my armor, fragile yet vast,
A shield I carry—this is why I mask.
