I have painted a mask

To cover my eyes, my soul.

Opaque, unfocused irises

Bearing guarded mind.

 

A brief smile

A soft hello

A pane of light

Bleeding through my façade

 

A dancer knows who she is

And her eyes will not betray her

As she performs wearing her mask

A mask displaying loss.

 

Hiding behind my eyes,

Hiding behind my mask,

Hiding under the weight

Of another’s sorrows.

 

This moment is one

Where she knows there is but one

Who can see the pain

Behind this mask she writes daily.

 

I am She, Dancer, and I.

I smile, hide, and write my mask.

He sees far beyond this,

My eyes bearing guarded mind.