The leader of men in warfare can show himself to his followers only through a mask, a mask that he must make for himself, but a mask made in such form as will mark him to men of his time and place as the leader they want and need.
quote by John Keegan

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
Mask
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
You look better that way
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
You look better that way
Are you my friend ?
Are you my plumber ?
Are you my God ?
What do you do ?
Wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
Which mask are you ?
Which mask are you ?
Complicated crushed up disappointed squirming angry thrusting stabbing regretting starving greedy human alien being, struggling down the street, up the alley, in the elevator, through the party, to the office, in the bedroom, on your way to the morgue. Bullshitting, lying, doing a good deed or feeling loved barely possible. Aware of insatiable demands of not a society all around you. Chunky frat boys in their shorts, pimps with old semite eyes, sex hoochies of the jungle, sensitive smart alec college graduates, critics fronting franticly in New York city, every body in L.A just plain licking ass or having it licked, irony in place of balls, balls in place of brains, brains in place of soul, where is the soul?, where is the love?, where am i?
Which mask are you ?
Which mask are you ?
Which mask are you ?
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
You're wearing a mask
which mask are you ?
song performed by by Iggy Pop

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Right Mask
One night a poem came up to a poet
From now on, it said, you must wear a mask.
What kind of mask? asked the poet.
A rose mask, said the poem.
I've used it already, said the poet,
I've exhausted it.
Then wear the mask that's made out of
a nightingale's song, use that mask.
Oh, it's an old mask, said the poet,
it's all used up.
Nonsense, said the poem, it's the perfect mask,
still, try on the god mask,
now that mask illuminates heaven.
It's a tight mask, said the poet,
and the stars crawl about in it like ants.
Then try on the troubador's mask, or the singer's mask,
try on all the popular masks.
I have, said the poet, but they fit so easily.
The poem was getting impatient,
it stamped its feet like a child,
it screamed. Then try on your own face,
try the one mask that terrifies,
the mask only you could possibly use,
the mask only you could wear out.
The poet tore at his face til it bled,
this mask? he yelled, this mask?
Yes, said the poem, yes.
But the poet was tired of masks,
he had lived too long with them,
he snatched at the poem and stuck it in his face.
Its screams were muffled, it wept, it tried to be lyrical,
it wriggled into his eyes and mouth.
Next day his friends were afraid of him,
he looked so distorted.
Now it's the right mask, said the poem, the right mask.
It clung to him lovingly and never let go again.
poem by Brian Patten

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Drop The Mask
(tim tickner, christopher ward, diana ross)
Look in the mirror, who do you see
Where is the man that you used to be
When you turn off the world and turn down the lights
Do you ever wonder who you are tonight
I knew you then, I love you now
You can call me up when it gets you down
Behind the shades theres someone real
Behind your eyes I wonder how you feel
This is me talking to you
Theres just one thing Im asking you to do
You gotta drop the mask, be yourself
Drop the mask
Trust someone else
No one knows what youre going through
Whatever it is, Ill be there for you
If you drop the mask, be yourself
Drop the mask
Trust someone else
I was there when it all began
I still remember the boy within the man
I understand what it means to run and hide
Theres so much that were holding onto deep down inside
This is me talking to you
The only thing that I want you to do
You gotta drop the mask, be yourself
Drop the mask
Trust someone else
No one knows what youre going through
Whatever it is, Ill be there for you
When you drop the mask, be yourself
Drop the mask
Trust someone else
Drop the mask
Drop the mask
Let down your guard, open your heart
Unlose your chains, dont be afraid
Drop the mask
Be yourself
Be yourself
Trust someone else
You gotta drop the mask
Let down your guard, oh you gotta drop the mask
Trust someone else
You gotta drop the mask
song performed by by Diana Ross

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Wearing It Now
People are around
I know I’ll be alright
The mask doesn’t hurt
No tears
Come from the mask
I put my own on
Thinking that’s the only way it should be
Becoming someone not even I can recognize
In the puddle on the ground
Stomping in it knowing this is not me
Then when the people go away
So does mask
This is the scene in the play I don’t know my lines
For I get scared and choke every time
Mine my mask just changes from
White-ish pink to a dark red
Where the mask simply goes from
Oh look at me I don’t do any thing wrong
To black showing it’s true colors
Whoever said black was all the rainbow mixed together
Is wring in this case
There is no other feeling other then black
Like truck tiers black
No sadness no joy just anger and hatred
The mask gets switched around from him to her
All the time I never know who is wearing it or
If the both of them are sharing it at the same time
So walking through that broken old door
That squeaks and carries on when you open it
You never know if this time
Will be the one time that will kill you
Or break your back
But you hope like heck you make it through
‘Cause if you don’t then you know your not
The only one the mask subjects
And the others will not survive without you
poem by Mrs. Cynosure

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Because the mask is your face, the face is a mask, so I'm thinking of the face as a mask because of the way I see faces is coming from an African vision of the mask which is the thing that we carry around with us, it is our presentation, it's our front, it's our face.
quote by Faith Ringgold

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Make Me A Mask
Make me a mask
That I can wear
till day is done
The wind in the trees
The falling leaves
The worlds spinning
Make me a mask
So I can laugh
till night time comes
No more can I stay
How long must I play
This game of winning
If I had known this was only a dream
I would have awakened from this sleep
Make me a mask
So I can last
till the right time comes
A tear in my eye
To light I fly
An end is beginning
song performed by by Fleetwood Mac

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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He's Back
You're with your baby
And you're parked alone
On a summer night
You're deep in love
But you're deeper in the woods
You think you're doin' alright
You heard a voice
Did you see that face
Or was it just a dream
It can't be real
That only happens, babe
On the movie screen
If you see him comin'
Get away if you can
He's a dangerous man
Throws a dangerous party man
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
He crawled out of his hole
Just to rock and roll
He's going out tonight
Going to make his rounds to get his fill
Standing staight and tall
He's a ton of fun
And he's dressed to kill
You know you read he was gone
It surely is him
But he's back on the prowl
Again and again and again
Don't you know
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
He crawled out of his hole
Just to rock and roll
You know you read he was gone
It surely is him
But he's back on the prowl
Again and again and again
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
He crawled out of his hole
Just to rock and roll
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
He crawled out of his hole
Just to rock and roll
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
He crawled out of his hole
Just to rock and roll
He's back
song performed by by Alice Cooper

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Mask That Covers My Pain
I wear a mask,
A mask that covers my pain,
I wear a smile,
A smile to cover my frown,
Secretly I am sad,
No ones here to hold me,
No ones here to love me,
I have no one,
My mask covers the pain in my eyes,
My mask covers the pain in my face,
My mask covers the pain in my heart,
My mask covers the pain in me,
I am but alone,
I am but in pain,
I am the only one,
I put a mask on,
To cover my pain,
poem by Samantha Guinen

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Questioner
I asked of heaven and earth and sea,
Saying: 'O wondrous trinity,
Deign to make answer unto me,
And tell me truly what ye be.'
And they made answer: 'Verily,
The mask before His face are we,
Because 'tis writ no man can see
His face and live;'-so spake the three.
Then I: 'O wondrous trinity,
A mask is but a mockery-
Make answer yet again to me
And tell if aught besides are ye.'
And they made answer: 'Verily,
The robe around His form are we,
That sick and sore mortality
May touch its hem and healèd be.'
Then I: 'O wondrous trinity,
Vouchsafe once more to answer me,
And tell me truly, what is He
Whose very mask and raiment ye?'
But they replied: 'Of Time are we,
And of Eternity is He.
Wait thou, and ask Eternity;
Belike his mouth shall answer thee.'
poem by William Watson

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The Mask
yes, there was this man in the village
he was happy.
yet, no one know who he really was
even until death.
all his life he wore the mask of the happy man
dignified and praised.
when he lived till 60 he wore the mask through and through
he was famous for his love and charity.
till his funeral the people cried
there i saw the mask, smiling and always willing to help
always empathizing, always willing to understand
the plight of each and everyone
and he was buried a happy man
time buries all including the mask of the happy man
if only they had taken time to dig him out from his grave
they could have seen the rotten ugliness beneath the mask of happiness
let him go, those who knew later said
he was a happy man, he served us so well, let him be, we pray.
i know the ugliness of his true self
but i guess, no one likes to hear what it is.
my lips are sealed
now we must praise him again: posthumously.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa

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Hassle, Hassle the Crazy Cage
# Hassle hassle the crazy cage #
Raju Baruah
Mask and Mask
Here mask, there mask
Musk over musk
I have forgotten my childhood face
I have lost my childhood eyes
I have lost my childhood smiles
Where is my cittern
Where is my clad
Where I lost my self
Play with clay
Sand pitch and the toys
Dews of grass
I grab with joy
Who taught me to wear mask
From where I learn to put me in husk
Every time we cheat our self
Every time we make delft
Hassle hassle the crazy cage.
poem by Raju Baruah

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I hail thee! Woman
Player one, two, three
I hail thee! Woman
Each day it is an awesome task
To cover her face with a mask
A different one she wears each day
A mask of beauty beneath a mask of love
A mask of pain embroided by sorrow
Lifes of loved ones lost
She would gladly like to re-borrow
She is the perfect player
She is the perfect mother
She is the perfect daughter
She is the perfect lover
Player one, two, three
I hail thee! Woman
There she wears her mask again
A mask of conniving sharpness and evil
And a parting deal with the devil
A mask of infinite ideas
And one of fictional loving care
Player one, two, three
I hail thee! Woman
Copyright 2006 - Sylvia Chidi
poem by Sylvia Chidi

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Beneath The Mask
Beneath the mask her wander lies
projecting an image for lovers eyes.
Such endless beauty my eyes behold,
under the mask she wears so bold
She hides behind her vain-full pride,
The twist and turn of storms inside.
She sits so still, so calm a girl
And guards with faith her hidden pearl.
Behold the mask covers her face
For between its cracks lies hidden grace
And beneath that mystic mask of wood
Lies secrets of a love so good
She needs to see through sudden glee
She needs not wear the mask for me.
In her glory I need to bask
For I love the girl who wear the mask.
Beneath the mask
There is a love and compassion
Inhibition and insecurities,
But there is also the girl I love
poem by C.F Francis

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Facade (a tritina)
So many have come to dwell behind a panarchy mask
Lost between the delusive dimensions of identity
Unable to perceive that which is deemed real
They dare not throw aside the caparison that veils the real
Lest those that wish to deceive and to mask
Would reveal the abstersive truth of their own identity
Yet if all would but don the verisimilitude of their identity
Then the shadows cast would corrivate into the real
And no longer would there lie merit within a mask
Are you the mask of your identity or are you real?
poem by Sheri Hockman

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She'll hide her face
She'll hide her face when shes not alone.
she slaps on her a mask, but its not her own.
It's the mask that everyone else wears.
She wants to be just like them
supposedly free with glee.
Free from her troubles, worries and strife.
Free from her demons that dominate her life.
But when the darkness falls.
And she's all her alone she can't hide her face.
Her mask falls and crumbles apart.
Her heart fills with the numbness she's had for many years.
Now her tears will fall she's all alone.
In her last bid for a better life,
She let the mask slip once.
She had to put it on again as they stared at her in disbelife.
The world didn't want to see her pain.
Rather belives she's an annoying pain.
So Her mask went back on.
Well she planned the day when she'd be gone.
poem by Amy Louise Kerswell

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Masks
Some people wears a mask,
afraid to let their feelings show.
Sometimes they wear them
when they are happy,
when they don’t need them at all.
Some wear a mask when they are sad
to hide their feeling there.
Some hide their anger,
others hide their shame,
while others hide behind a mask
trying to show they have no feelings at all.
poem by David Harris

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The mask of the character was already written into the show, but I actually lobbied for a denser and more complete mask than they initially considered.
quote by Rene Auberjonois

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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It's a terrible thing to be alone - yes it is - it is - but don't lower your mask until you have another mask prepared beneath - as terrible as you like - but a mask.
quote by Katherine Mansfield

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Masks
Different masks some people wear
Pretending to be true.
They really don't care
If you are sad or blue.
They put on a mask of Friend
And try to let you down.
They are amazingly sad when you are up
And feel so happy when you are down.
Some people wear the mask of Kindness
Which is the most horrible one.
They just kill you without any gun.
They tell you kind words
To relax your vigilance
Looking only for their own conveniance.
And after all they run away
Leaving you alone on a crossway.
There is a mask of Faithfulness
Which sells you as a good
And you live in ignorance like in a dark wood.
There is a mask of Love
That breaks your heart in pieces,
It talks about love without any ceases,
And sounds like a dramatic art
Without any feelings
It waits for your kneelings.
The mask of Tenderness is a vile thing,
The sweetest songs it sings
But only disappointment it brings.
Horrible mask is a mask of Duty,
It is sometimes so cutie.
It shouts hurrays and the next day it betrays.
There are so many masks some people wear,
All of them are different
But...they are all indifferent;
To your life, your feelings, your love.......
All the masks I named above
Have the same profiles
Even having different styles.
They betray, they ignore, they lie,
They don't even care if you die.
But they forget one thing:
The mask of Death is the only one for all.
That's all!
poem by Larisa Rzhepishevska

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Fear is inherent
Boldness is a mask for fear;
Kindness too.
Anger is a mask for fear;
Prayer too.
To appease is a mask for fear;
To please too.
Fear is inherent in life
Like water in living bodies.
27.06.2008
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

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