Mask-Man

[Guest aballofquestions]

I may or may not have a fascination with couplets...

Mask-Man

I walked along the longest hall, I walked and found I could only crawl

I walked and found I mostly fell, I walked and crawled through the hallway’s hell

I walked and saw the mud caked glass which looked upon the present and past

The light was there but could barely be seen through the muck and mire upon the screen

I walked and found a rusted mirror but for its tarnish could grow no clearer

The one inside I could but just make out, but of what I saw I had no doubt

The mirror-man was not quite right, a mask was all which was in sight

I reached up to pull the mask away, and found under-mask, a mask-display

The mask-man gave way to another mask, and another then as I began to ask

Was there anyone truly under the idol or was the mask but a bit and bridle?

I realized then that one cannot find the thing which one cannot put in mind

That thing for which it cannot be is a thing for which we cannot see

I threw down the mirror-mask and stood, began to walk as best I could

The hall grew lighter, windows passing by, to a world starved of its ink-dye

A mask fell loose and broke away, and another then began to stray

I forgot the masks, one by one, forgot the grime which blotted the sun

I forgot the mirrors, rust-distorted, and found myself bodily transported

I forgot the hall and the mask-man hell, and heard then his sorrowed knell

I had forgotten that the sun could shine, forgotten then that it had once been mine

Forgotten was the warmth and breeze, forgotten were the colors and trees

The masks had covered what I would not see, they covered then what I could not be

The masks had only a distorted view, a world left in grayish hue

I forgot the masks, the dark and dim, forgot the mask-man once had been

Came upon a crystal mirror, gleaming glass that could grow no clearer

The visage showed no masks or wrong, showed only what had been all along

Born again as I was born to be, born again, and again, now, free.

-Alexis

[Charlize]

Thank you Alexis. That was beautiful. A lovely cupful of couplets.

Hugs,

Charlize

[Guest]

Wonderful work, Alexis,

Thank you for sharing your writing with us.

Huggs,

Joann

Edited December 14, 2014 by Guest
Fixed name typo. Joann60

[Guest Jennifer T]

Very nice, Alexis.

[Guest Rose]

Very good. The rhyme scheme gave it a nice flow. The symbol of the mask reminded my of Langston Hughes, who is my favorite poet. Its also reminiscent of W.E.B. Dubois's concept of the veil or double-consciousness.

[Guest miss kindheart]

Nice poetry Alexis

vanna