Devoid of Inspiration... Removing Masks

One of my all-time favorites, written way back in 1991. The angst is dripping like venom. Today, I am devoid of inspiration and must go back to the memories. For Lonie P, who asked me to try.

Welcome to this masquerade!
Welcome to your daily world, children of God.
Welcome to your faces
Which you wear like clothes :
Different styles for differing purposes.

Voice out your greetings to everyone here,
For this is the side you present,
This is the profile you labor to show.

Welcome ! Welcome !
Don't be afraid of each other;
After all, everyone is hiding behind a mask.
What is there to fear?

Are you afraid that others will find
That you are not as strong as you seem
That you are not as cheerful as you pretend
That you are not as interesting as you intend
That you are not as you great as you dream?

Are you afraid that even with the mask
Others will find you unwholesome,
Or uninteresting,
Or a person below their notice?

You have the masks on,
So why bother to hide,
When the pretty image you present
Is what they too expect?

They expect that you'll be happy
When you're so torn up deep inside.
They expect that you'll carry on
When your soul cries out for rest.
They expect your cheerful countenance
When you want to cry and berate them.
They expect your willing hand
When it is all so bruised and broken.

And yet, these masks make you so happy,
Or is that how shallow you can be?

For your masks are like clenched fists
Which push through every obstacle
But punish every knuckle
With the pain of each hard strike.

Your satisfaction demands it.
Your self-serving wishes advise it.
Your blind expectations will it.
I WILL LIVE BEHIND THIS MASK!
I will be what others want me to be,
Even if it hurts,
Even if it plunges me into self-hate!
I will lie to myself so I can lie to others...
I want to keep these smiles of companionship
So I will give them what they want
At the risk of being so utterly lonely inside...

Your yearning for truth asks for deliverance...
Must you always be what others wish for?
Can you not be yourself and thus be more?
More than that pale profile you must cast
Like an unseemly shadow in the world of bright light.

You are as bright as any illumination,
You are just like any star that shines at night
For every pain and hurt that scars your being
Is like the stroke of the blacksmith's hammer
That forges the sharpness of your spirit.
For every tear that you must shed
Is like the burden which hardens your sinews
That gives you the very power to stand.

Open your heart to yourself
As you open a hand to reach out...
This same hand that opens to its very palms
Can strike down any hurdle
A lot better than any clenched fist.

Yes, the pain would sear much further
For you do not have the protective wrappings.
All the better, for the pain which you dread
Is the very love which sanctifies your sacrifice.
The scars which would come forth from these wounds
Would be your trophies of growth,
As with seeds which must die in order to bloom.

You are what you are, your masks cannot change that.
Lies wrapped up in themselves fade away easily
Before that chance wind which breaks them all down...
You are what you can be, and yet you settle for less
When you can share in each other's pain
And give solace to each other's hurt
And pull down the walls of each other's fall
And reveal your true persons beyond the confusion.

Stop! And look at one another,
How ridiculous must people be to show beauty
When true beauty comes from the appreciation
Of each blemish and imperfection
Which you can change with the love of others...
Stop! Listen to the call of your souls...
Take the masks off, and take that risk...
NOW....