Mask
Hope - twisted image seen through mental mask,
Accepted self-delusion counterfeit,
Perhaps to help man’s conscience counter fate,
Perhaps to tint the rainboy. Many ask
In disarray the question 'What joys last? '
Now, the Present - an elastic date, -
Extends until it snaps, while 'soon' is late.
So little time remains till we are 'Past'.
Some think themselves a mirage, say their task
Allotted compensating former state
Misguided - yet in times when troubles spate
A help for blind from foetus to the cask.
So though some cling to crutch, to token creeds,
Karmic beliefs as such seem broken reeds.
21 November 1991 revised 20 December 2006
robi03_0488_robi03_0000 ASX_DJZ
for previous version entitled Happiness a Mask see below
Happiness, - A Mask
Hope is a mirrored image of man's mask,
Arranged in manner often counterfeit, -
Perhaps to help his conscience counter fate,
Perhaps to tint the rainboy. Man may ask
In disarray the question 'What joys last? '
Now, - the Present - an elastic date,
Extends until it snaps, while 'soon' is late.
So little time remains till we are 'Past'.
Some think themselves a mirage, say a task
Allotted is to compensate their state -
Mistaken! - yet in times when troubles spate
A help for blind from foetus to the cask.
So though some need a token creed as crutch
Karmic beliefs seem broken reeds as such...
Acrostic sonnet Happiness a Mask
21 November 1991
© Jonathan Robin
poem by Jonathan Robin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
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
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Jekyll and Hyde
JEKYLL AND HYDE
Nature in her wisdom has created
a set of twins that wars within one mind.
Here, surface grace, there peerless smile some find,
yet never poet those charms celebrated.
Superficial gloss deceives. As stated,
above, fair features mask Hyde hid behind,
foiling heart, whose coils seem serpentined,
motives murky, joy soon dissipated.
Reflect on shine whose light seems calculated
to serve as shield behind an iron blind,
unsated floe on salt sea floats unkind.
Drawn is this portrait, equal loved and hated.
Captivated, some serve both, but why
are some men, pawns, ensnared by mirage eye?
20 April 1991 revised 3 January 2009
robi03_0304_robi03_0000 SXX_JLX
for previous version see below
Jekyll and Hyde
Nature in her wisdom has created
a set of twins whcih war within one mind: -
there, tender beauty, peerless smile some find,
yet never poet those charms celebrated.
Surface sweetness can deceive. As stated
above, here, features mask Hyde hid behind,
who, fooling often heart, plays rôles unkind,
nor cares a tinker’s curse for joys abated.
Despite the shine, the light seems calculated
to better shield behind an iron blind,
or iceberg, - all once seemed so gentle, kind.
Such is the tableau, equal loved and hated.
However, captive, both some serve, yet why
are some ensnared by mirage twinkle eye?
20 April 1991
poem by Jonathan Robin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Failing Mask
I wear a clay mask
A mask of strength and happiness
That its true task
Is to cover my true sadness
A loss so deep and discerning
It makes my body yearning
For something to fill this void
That seems to always loid
Around my broken heart of despair
Yet so many people seem to care
Its pain is still so very deep
Of a loss I wish to not ever seek
So I wear this mask of happiness and strength
For I know its job will soon fall to length
For all the sadness and pain I have endured
This mask is going to fall
As a building to tall
So I know
It will shatter and fall
So I pray for you all
That you will not fall
To such a loss of mine
So terrible in mind
poem by Eric Mills
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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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
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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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
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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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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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
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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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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Polyacrostic - A Final Act I Play... and Yet
A FINAL ACT I PLAY... AND YET
ALL FADES INTO NOTHINGNESS AT LAST,
FADES fast, flame flame attracts, itself devours.
INTO Time’s vacuum hours suction hour –
NOTHINGNESS: the frame for fame when Past
AT journey’s end the Future meets to cast
LAST dies with Fate – which late or early sours.
ASHES CHILLING TIME’S IMMORTAL POWERS:
CHILLING bigot, priest, iconoclast.
TIME’S melting pot’s a plumbless well, repast
IMMORTAL, tasteless still, which overpowers
POWERS of perception, leaves life’s flowers
LOST and blighted ‘neath the blast, soon passed.
AND yet Youth’s fountain springs, denies ‘too late’.
YET Hope fears’ dupes would prove, Love knows no date!
polyacrostic sonnet 21 November 1991
robi03_0486_robi03_0000 BSX_DKZ
© Jonathan Robin
poem by Jonathan Robin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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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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What's My Name? !
What is my name and who am I?
I do not ask myself
But you
Who
Ever you are
I ask who is this David Knox
Who remains under this mask
Just a boy who runs fast?
I pray I'm more, even more than talks
With others or with you, am I more than just who i was before?
Who is this kid any more?
Is he still one to abhor?
If he is, who is me?
How can this be?
For I know him not
Though I hear every thought
I don't know myself, or what's inside
I forgot what I pledged to hide
Maye all that remains is the mask
But then I must ask
What is my name?
If my mask holds my fame
Who is he>?
Who is this shadow of a man?
Who is this dark messenger who spreads light
Who is this dead messenger that brings life
Who is this mask that urges you to take off yours
Who is this boy who claims to find his identity in Christ?
Who is David Knox
What makes 'me'
Who is that?
What's my name?
And what's that means for who I am
Tell me you must know if I do not
Because SOMEONE must!
TELL ME! WHAT'S MY NAME? !
poem by David Knox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Happy times
Happiness
I want to take it and smash it on the floor
its such a liar
Only a mask to blind you from the truths
Happiness folks lays in bed with despair
They under the covers plan our demise
give us hope and all its promise
only to take it away and crush us
Happiness what a joke
the crulest gift of all
takith and givith away
Happiness you can have it
I am a realiest
And want to take happiness
and smash it on the floor
poem by Vincent Armone
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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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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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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In Gestation - For You I Wait
For you I wait
On Nature’s way,
Run round night, day,
Yet stand on fate.
One month too late
Unseen from play
I'll slip away
Won't stand on state -
At golden gate
In Peter's plate,
To time a prey.
I’ll wile away
Now while you wait -
Growth rapid, great.
Each cell array
Strings D.N.A.
To duplicate.
Amalgamate
The smiles that sway
In interplay
Our joys, our fête,
New meeting's date!
Gesticulate
Explains brain's way
Says much of rate
The changes weigh
In, conjugate
Conflict, delay,
Until debate
Lifts cares away
As questions skate
To answers sway.
Ideas, sung, may
Now percolate,
Gain strength, relay
Its not too late!
Now heed display
Anticipate
Smiles in a spate
Open truth's ray
None ever may
Gainsay or grate,
To populate
Our every day
Divinely gay.
As we relate,
Yes, gest states jest... guess I just ate!
© Jonathan Robin – acrostic For You I Wait In Gestation Gesticulating In A Song Today
written 26 March 2005 modified 12 April 2008
For you I wait
On Nature’s way,
Run round night, day,
Yet stand on fate.
One month too late
Unseen from play
I slip away
Won't stand on state -
At golden gate
To time a prey.
I’ll wile away
Now while you wait -
Growth rapid great
Each cell array
Sets D.N.A.
To duplicate.
Anticipate
The smiles that sway
In interplay
Our joys, our fête,
New meeting's date!
If this song may
Lift cares away
Let percolate
Smiles in a spate
Intense, a ray
None ever may
Gainsay or grate, -
To populate
Our every day
Divinely gay.
As we relate,
Yes, I gest state jest guess just ate!
26 March 2005
poem by Jonathan Robin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Feeling's
My face is a mask that ive worn so long
You cant get close my mask is to strong
I want to feel love but driven hate
Sin and regret will be my fate
How do I live life if no feelings are there
Stressed and angry to drained to care
I'm empty inside that's all I can feel
I want to have feelings but don't know what's real
I need to clear my head and a fresh mentality
Fill the empty hole that's causing this agony
Love and happiness I try to express
With out my mask I would be a mess
God please give me strength to fight this fear
I smile for a while but still shed a tear
poem by Nic Hillen
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To Cease Upon the Midnight - 0401
What plot encompasses our story's scope?
Ret-urning tears well, eloquently dumb,
where shadows numberless leave yearning numb,
and where the headstone's granite shoulders slope
squat down upon grave tomb's departed hope.
Chips cover churning worms which gorge plum, plumb
fame's name, life's game, both spurning: zero sum.
Why worry whether minister or pope
on empty blessing strings pain sermon's rope,
vain hope remains in echo's braggart drums!
The petty pomp which time spent pawning crumbs
is thrust by Time, nonplussed, from g[r]asp and grope.
A sandy trickle ends, calls each to task,
the handy sickle bends, falls, reach to mask.
(10 July 1991)
poem by Jonathan Robin
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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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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A Task To Mask My Weaknesses
It isn't as easy as it seems,
To teach anyone...
Who has established a mindset,
That whatever is done which they do...
Is okay no matter what it is.
Betraying others with a disrespect to display,
Is a thoughtlessness that increases to test...
Others to accept a mindset,
Deep in selfishness.
And kept protected in ways unsuspected.
Until one steps forward to protest this disregard,
There will be excuses made forever...
By the ones who perceive,
Others exist to cater to their needs.
To leave them to do as they choose and please.
'You can say what you like,
But never again...
Will I be giving you another opportunity,
To perceive my giving...
As a task to mask my weaknesses.'
No, never again will you interpret my giving,
As a task to mask my weaknesses.
No, never again will you interpret my giving,
As a task to mask my weaknesses.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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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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