Mask

When I was young
They told me to hide my emotions and my pain
They gifted me a mask
Showed me how to put it on
I painted that mask carefully
So unsure of what I wanted people to see
I practiced in the mirror cutting glares and looks that kill
My mask only helped me to feel safe
The tears that fell behind it went unseen
I never knew that once you accept it
It never seems to go away, the mask
It loves me, it is here to stay forever
Suddenly the question arises
when does it and I stop and end?
Where am I? Or where is it?
Am I just sharp glares or a careful frown?
If you love me, do you love the mask?
If I were to take it off, would I be a snail without its home?
Unprotected, unsheltered, completely vulnerable
If you touch my face do you feel the edges?
The cutting pain of the places I think it ends
Oh, to go either way, to accept or reject it
All I know is that it is there and has been for so long
So love the mask or love me
But don't tell me the mask is entirely me
Because you don't see what it hides
Or the tears I cry behind my mask