Poema de Mi Id: Parte VI

“The Mask”

I have worn a mask for ages.
So long I have forgotten
What my true face looks like.

Perhaps I was born with my mask.
Perhaps it was attached in my cradle.
I do not know; I never asked.

Life is easy behind the mask,
But life is hell without it.
My face exposed to the merciless crowd.

No, I'm glad I wear it.
Keeping my face hidden from
The sneers and frowns of my fellow man.

Alas, someday, I fear
I shall fall in love.
Then the real test will come.

Will she love me or
Will she love the mask
She thinks is me?

That is the question
That I must ask myself.
But I dare not.

For I have fallen in love
Before, only to find myself
In love with another's mask.

When I tried to peel it off her,
I found nothing beneath it
Save another mask and another...

Many masks I peeled away,
Until, at last I came to a
barren skull.

Then I realized right there and then
That the girl I loved had worn her mask
So long that she had lost her face.

And should the day ever come
When I too would have to unmask,
Then, I fear, I'll share her fate.