Masks
Wherever
I turn, I see people in masks
Displaying
vibrant smiles, bright-colored lips,
Their
eyes emboldened by generous dark glasses,
As
in the middle of some country fair.
Beneath
their curious appearances
Are
smothered helpless tones
Of
black, weathered brown
And
wrinkled white,
Their
despair, their tears,
Their
hunger, their fears,
And
their verboten vocations.
Also,
one of them was trying furiously
To
tear her mask,
While
I heard another,
Struggling
to keep it on till the day ended.
