The Mask

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 over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
      We wear the mask.

We smile, but oh 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 Laurence Dunbar, 1897

Isn't this true? We are the person we want to be in the situation we are in; we hide our true self to be what others think we should be or to be the person we think others think we should be.  Who are we really, deep down inside?

I'm just glad that God knows my thoughts and my heart.  He knows the real me and loves the real me. I'm thankful I don't have to hide behind the mask when I'm with God.