Poetry: “The Mask”

By Nadia Elamin, 18
Pennsylvania

Art by Eleanor Bennett, 15
United Kingdom

Ah, the mask we wear,

To keep our souls from being so abruptly bare –

In contrast to the ever-changing emotions we must tame,

A mask, truly, always remains the same

5 Wood: so hollow,

So empty, pressed into its desired shape, so shallow –

Crafted smoothly it blankly stares,

Guarding the delicate innards of our beings, it spares

We wear the masks to disguise these useless tears –

10 For not everything is simply what is appears

Let the world not worry itself with our distress,

One pain unheard is one pain less

What the eye sees beautiful surely can lie –

But what one never sees one can always deny

15 To be blissful and serene is a difficult task –

But for us, it is simple, for we wear the mask