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We Wear The Mask
By Paul Laurence Dunbar
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades
our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and
bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why
should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and
sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We
smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls
arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and
long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the
mask!
Dearest Jo-Anne,
ReplyDeleteA great poem about this crazy thing.
Some big power managed to get the entire world on its knees...
In this world, in this life, it is all about POWER!
May we pray hard that this soon will end and that all humans get their freedom back.
Hugs,
Mariette
Interesting poem Jo-Anne.
ReplyDeleteIt's the thing to do... but I will be SO happy when we get our world back. Humans weren't built to be distant from one another.
ReplyDeleteWearing a face mask is the new normal for us now and in days to come. I saw someone I recognized and I smiled but then I realized that she couldn't see my smile nor I can see hers. So we ended up nodding to each other. Have a happy weekend. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteDear Jo-Anne, the mask is, perhaps, a symbol for this year and maybe even more. It will, perhaps, become a symbol for much more than just the virus, especially here in the United States.
ReplyDeleteDunbar, who was African-American, was a fine poet in the early 20th century. I studied some of his poems in high school and college back in the 1950s. African-Americans were forced to wear a mask hiding their inner selves back in Dunbar's time and that has continued for another century here. I so hope that the revolution of "Black Lives Matter" will bring an end to the "mask-wearing" that these Americans have had to do just to survive living in the American culture. Peace.
Mariette........I found it interesting
ReplyDeleteMargaret D......Yes it is
Carol.......So will I be
Dee......So true my friend, your information is very interesting
Chris......Yes it is