Edna's Asthma
Edna had asthma
And she used to put
This big black mask
Over her face
To help her breathe
And she talked
In short gasps
And wheezed
Between words
And had the best eyes
You could remember
And a smile that lingered
Long after she turned back
To shove the mask back on
And stood with one hand
On the table to steady herself
And the other gripping the mask
And it seemed death stood
In the wings of the house
Biding his time
Leaning maybe against
The dresser or in the dark hall
And Mother said Edna thought
Others talk about her
Behind her back
And it made her quite paranoid
Hearing whispers
When it may have been
Just the harsh wind
Through loose shutters
Or dull women’s mutter
And you guess she knew
You thought about her
And loved her down
The cold long nights
Thinking of you
As that young boy
With the cheeky grin
But then death
Took off with her
Worn out and thin.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Aunt Edna and Her Black Mask
Your Aunt Edna
had asthma
and she carried around
a big black
asthmatic mask
which frightened
the life out of you
especially when
she put it over
her mouth and nose
and her eyes went
big and dark
and she said
it's ok Tony
nothing to worry about
it's to help me breathe
and she managed
to laugh
and you kind of relaxed
and watched
as she sat down
and closed her eyes
and breathed in
and her breath
came back
of its own accord
and then she put
the mask down
and she was herself again
and her dark hair
was curled and wavy
and she looked like
an actress when
she wasn't gasping
for breath
and didn't have
that awful mask
over her face
and some days
she took you
to the park nearby
and watched you
run and play
or sat with you
on a bench
when she needed
to catch her breath
and you liked the park
with its tall trees
and wide green spaces
and the green
painted railings
that went all around
and there was that
gateway you went in
and you remember dogs
running and their owners
throwing sticks or balls
but you just sat
with Aunt Edna
as she put on her mask
to find her breath
and you and she
not knowing then
that hiding behind
the asthma
was ugly Mr Death.
poem by Terry Collett
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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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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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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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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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A Smile Is A Complicated Thing
A smile is a complicated thing, I'll tell you why,
Anyone can smile, as anyone should,
Yet still it can mask the deepest cuts, I know it's true,
It can deceive people into thinking one's okay, has it worked? ,
It can hide the tears that have dried upon ones face, can you see them?
A smile can show the world a little bit of light, if even just a glimmer,
It can take dark cracks in one's mind and disguise them, I wear a disguise,
It can put on a show for everyone to see, will you clap for me? ,
Yet a smile can also be true, I've had those too,
Offering nothing but joy and laughter, I remember those,
So before you pass off ones smile take a second to smile back, please smile at me,
Reassure them that they don't waste their smiles, are mine wasted? ,
Never judge a smile or ignore the eyes of the smiling, look in my eyes,
Look for hidden pains behind the mask, can you see? ,
Don't be deceived by the charade, listen to my silent story,
And before you pass by smile back, please smile back,
For your smile could be saying the same, do you know how I feel? ,
Everyone has reason to smile, are you smiling? ,
But a smile is a complicated things, I have told you why,
No one should smile alone, smile with me,
We all smile together for good and for bad, what's your story? ,
You're never alone, I am here,
A smile is a complicated thing, I have told you why.
poem by Bethany Maxwell
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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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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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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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Behind The Mask
Written by christine mcvie.
Dont you come too close to me
Youre dangerous, cant you see
You can make the darkness mean more
Then it ever did
Ever did before
Its a devils disguise
Angel in black
And I recognize the face behind the mask
Its a devils disguise
Angel in black
I dont know if I want you back
Youre the cool nights of the desert
And the hot kisses of the sun
Why is it that I dont belive you
When you say Im the only one
I know Im the lonely one
Its a devils disguise
Angel in black
And I recognize the shadows from your past
Its a devils disguise
Angel in black
Dont you know itll never last
The face behind the mask
There will never be a second chance for you
Oh no
Not for you
Its a devils disguise
Angel in black
And I recognize the face behind the mask
Its a devils disguise
Angel in black
Dont you know itll never last
The face behind the mask
Its a devils disguise
Angel in black
And I recognize the shadows from your past
Its a devils disguise
Angel in black
I dont know if I want you back
I dont know if I want you back
Dont you know itll never last
The face behind the mask
song performed by by Fleetwood Mac
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Eyes Of Mr D (Part 5)
Mr D took off his glasses,
and raised his white cane.
He struck the dark figure,
hard with the crook of the handle
in the middle of the back.
The dark figure bends backwards
revealing his mask of death.
Quickly he recovered and twisted around.
He went to strike out at Mr D,
who hooked the white cane
around one leg and pulled.
The dark figure with the mask of death
fell upon the ground.
He pulled a blade from his pocket
that glinted under the moonlight.
Mr D used the cane again
to knock the blade from his hand
into the dark waters of the lake.
The sound of sirens and blue lights filled the air.
The figure with the mask of death
tried his best to flee.
Mr D went after him.
He ran onto the wooden bridge.
Mr D caught him there.
They struggled with each other,
one getting the upper hand for a moment,
then the other.
Mr D finally hit him with his fist.
The figure spun and stumbled against the wooden guardrail.
The rail snapped under the sudden weight.
Into the dark waters,
the figure plunged and disappeared below.
Mr D came off the bridge
moments before the police arrived.
It was over now he said to himself.
The pretty woman waited there for him.
She looked, smiled, and held her hand out
to the man who saved her life.
“How did you know? ” she asked.
“My eyes told me it was going to happen.”
He then went on to explain.
When they were allowed to leave,
they left hand in hand.
“I don’t know your name.” She said,
“And here you save my life.”
He smiled. “Are you sure you want to know? ”
She nodded.
“My name is Henry De Ath,
but just call me Henry or Mr D.
On the far side of the lake,
a figure emerged
from the dark waters of the lake.
He crawled up onto the shore,
and then removed the mask of death that he wore.
He waited for a few moments
while he caught his breath,
and then hurried back to his black car.
He gave a quick glance at the blue lights,
on the far shore,
before disappearing
into the swirl of traffic for another day.
The End……………………..or is it?
poem by David Harris
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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
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My Fake Smile
I sit here with a smile on my face
I smile as I breath in deep
I smile as I close my eyes
And i smile all day long...
The sky is dark
as the freezing winds
Seep into my cheeks and bones,
I sit here smiling silently cold and empty
I wait here frozen in time,
With my dreams torn apart
My heart encased in a tomb
I smile to mask my true emotions
The mask wear is so perfect
One needs tocome alot closer
To see the tears trickling down my eyes
Emotions swell inside
Walking on a broken path
I look up for the rainbow
Hoping one day i will get off this
Broken Path
And on to
A NEW ONE :)
poem by Anushka Arora
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Lost In Faith
i cried late nights a
long time ago but no one
came to save me each night
i prayed but none of my
prayers was heard
i alone knew where i stood
i alone knew the capability
of this beast...i strech out
and reach for your hand
but fell short when no man
grabbed up on to me
i fell for decayeds back to back
and stood after all in my dreams
i found peace and joy
but now of this can follox me home
and for that my faith is few
poem by Robert Roberts
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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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Where Or When
When youre awake
The things you think
Come from the dreams you dream
Thought has wings,
And lots of things
Are seldom what they see
Sometimes you think youve lived before
All that you live today
Things you do come back to you
As though they knew the way
Oh, the tricks your mind can play
It seems we stood and talked like this before
We looked at each other in the same way then
But I cant remember where or when
The clothes youre wearing and the clothes you wore
The smile you are smiling you were smiling then
But I cant remember where or when
Some things that happen for the first time
Seem to be happening again
And so it seems that we have met before
And laughed before
And loved before
But who knows where or when
It seems we stood and talked like this before
We looked at each other in the same way then
But I cant remember where or when
The clothes youre wearing and the clothes you wore
The smile you are smiling you were smiling then
But I cant remember where or when
Some things that happen for the first time
Seem to be happening again
And so it seems that we have met before
And laughed before
And loved before
But who knows where or when
(richard rodgers/lorenz hart)
song performed by by George Michael
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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0252 To my elder brothers
I think of you more often nowadays, I don’t know why;
how is it now with you?
And are you still somewhere – if you ever were -
that I might talk to you?
Will I one day meet you, talk with you,
and know just how it was?
Or do you, I wonder, ever think of me?
And if you do, do you regret
the fun we never had, the games we never played?
How different, I really wonder, would I be now,
if you were here - well, you’d be getting on now,
but there would be so much to look back on…
(and would our funerals maintain the order of our birth?)
What was it like? Did you have some choice,
that made you turn back when so nearly born?
You know that you were loved, with all the love
that Mum and Dad had poured into their wedding vows,
not so very long before; all the love
poured into each other and their lives…
was there some choice?
Did you hear something
within that cosy cave of flesh – Dad’s angry voice, perhaps,
knowing that this was one event
he wasn’t able to control? So that you turned back
halfway along the scary dark tunnel of love? That’s not a thought
I care to have. But I fought Dad, and just about survived..
and loved him, too, when I was very young…
And Mum – do you, I wonder, think – or know - what it must have been
for her? The biggest tiny present
that she could have given to Dad
taken from them, twice?
Did you know, you second one,
that the first had turned back too?
And so, as some wry joke, I say, when people ask
as people do - meaning always something that’s unsaid -
‘Are you an only child? ’ – I say,
all aggressive-defensive-like,
‘I’m the youngest of three miscarriages…’
and remember – that I never knew you
but I miss you so.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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The Mask
You wear a mask upon your face
So people wont know of your sin and disgrace
Or of the things that you have said and done
And of the life you have ended and then again begun.
You cover up your lines and all of your tears
So no one can see the worries and your fears
Or of the anger and the hate that's on your face
So upon your face a mask you did paste.
But I wonder if anyone really does know
The color of your cheeks or the shape of your nose
Or the saddened bags underneath your eyes
From the guilt you felt from the tears of your lies.
And when you meet people I wonder do they stare
Maybe they think to themselves, who is really behind there
But then you don't care what people might say or ask
As you can conceal all, when you wear your mask.
And so that mask you will wear till your dying days
As it will become you in so many very different ways
But one day in death your mask it will then be removed
Then man and all will stand in sadness, as they see the real you.
Randy L. McClave
poem by Randy McClave
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The Blue Mask
They tied his arms behind his back
To teach him how to swim
They put blood in his coffee
And milk in his gin
They stood over the soldier
In the midst of the squalor
There was war in his body
And it caused his brain to holler
Make the sacrifice
Mutilate my face
If you need someone to kill
Im a man without a will
Wash the razor in the rain
Let me luxuriate in pain
Please dont set me free
Death means a lot to me
The pain was lean and it made him scream
He knew he was alive
He put a pin through the nipples on his chest
He thought he was a saint
Ive made love to my mother, killed my father and brother
What am I to do
When a sin goes too far, its like a runaway car
It cannot be controlled
Spit upon his face and scream
Theres no oedipus today
This is no play youre thinking you are in
What will you say
Take the blue mask down from my face
And look me in the eye
I get a thrill from punishment
Ive always been that way
I loathe and despise repentance
You are permanently stained
Your weakness buys indifference
And indiscretion in the streets
Dirtys what you are and clean is what youre not
You deserve to be soundly beat
Make the sacrifice
Take it all the way
Theres no wont high enough
To stop this desperate day
Dont take death away
Cut the finger at the joint
Cut the stallion at his mount
And stuff it in his mouth
song performed by by Lou Reed
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Unfinished History
WE HAVE loved each other in this time twenty years
And with such love as few men have in them even for
One or for the marriage month or the hearing of
Three nights' carts in the street but it will leave them:
We have been lovers the twentieth year now:
Our bed has been made in many houses and evenings:
The apple-tree moves at the window in this house:
There were palms rattled the night through in one:
In one there were red tiles and the sea's hours:
We have made our bed in the changes of many months and the
Light of the day is still overlong in the windows
Till night shall bring us the lamp and one another:
Those that have seen her have no thought what she is:
Her face is clear in the sun as a palmful of water:
Only by night and in love are the dark winds on it....
I wrote this poem that day when I thought
Since we have loved we two so long together
Shall we have done together all love gone?
Or how then will it change with us when the breath
Is no more able for such joy and the blood is
Thin in the throat and the time not come for death?
poem by Archibald MacLeish
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