We wear the mask!
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 overwise,
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!
~Paul Luarence Dunbar (1872-1906)
Famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass once called Paul Luarence Dunbar “the most promising young colored man in America.”
Wow..so cool! I’m so happy that I inspired you with the words of Paul Laurence Dunbar! A powerful poem and one that speaks to Michael’s life!!
I LOOOOOVE this!! I was just stunned by how it pulled together so much of what I’ve felt about Michael Jackson.. and life as a human being in general. Under these ‘adult masks’ lie the children we were and are. If ever we hope to love unconditionally, we must first begin with the child within.
<3 Brandy