We Wear the Mask
~ by Paul Lawrence 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!
~ Dunbar, Paul Laurence. “We Wear the Mask.” from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar.
As I contemplate this poem today, I think about the masks that keep us from connection… the ones that we take off and display when we finally tell our story… the place where we come into presence with each other… and see each other’s true faces… and perhaps recognize our own reflection in the eyes of another… we wear the mask… Thank you to Paul Laurence Dunbar for this beautiful poem.
References
- The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar: An African American Poet, Novelist and Playwright in the Late 19th Century
- Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird
