Men and women in masks
Marionettes that dance
Fake smiles in bright lights
Brittle and brazen in fights
With holes in their souls
How do they get by
With hideous grasping
Greedy and grabbing
Stripping the world bare
With an ugly stare
Beautiful carcasses
Designed to deceive
In shadows they live
Without masks
They cannot breathe
Such is the world
A stage –
of masked
Strangers.
Filed under Life, People Portraits, Pictures, Poetry
 | Amita on BUT REALLY, NEED IT BE LIKE… |
 | Anjali on Reeds in the mist |
 | Russell CJ Duffy on Reeds in the mist |
| Anjali on THE MIRROR |
 | wilsonagaba on THE MIRROR |
| Amita on BUT REALLY, NEED IT BE LIKE… |
| Anjali on Reeds in the mist |
| Russell CJ Duffy on Reeds in the mist |
| Anjali on THE MIRROR |
| wilsonagaba on THE MIRROR |
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Loved this!
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Beautiful and poignant words, Anjali, to which I would humbly and respectfully add: some women, too.
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Agreed Eric! In fact I meant the term ‘men’ in a generic way but I guess it doesn’t appear that way – so I shall add women too! 🙂 Thank you for dropping by!
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Dear Anjali,
Thank you very much for sharing this powerful poem.
Holes in souls is a real phenomenon which contributes to great suffering for the holed soul and others.
Thank *you* for sharing what you do here. It all contributes to recovering our souls, and living with them and in them.
All good wishes,
robert
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Dear Anjali,
Thank you very much for this very beautiful and powerful poem.
Damaged souls, left unhealed, go on to bring more suffering to others.
All good wishes,
robert
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Absolutely Robert! They think they are being clever but unfortunately you are so right when you say – that not only do they suffer themselves but also bring suffering to others. Thank you for your always wise observations!
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Wow Anjali. I love this one. It’s so very poignant and true in many cases. The unfortunate thing is that masks often serve as a way of hiding the truth, which many times the masked ones don’t like in themselves.
🙂
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Well written and it’s very true, unfortunate and sad that it is this way, but true nonetheless. What keeps me afloat in this world and not go into a depression about the sorry state of how people treat each other in this world is the knowledge that behind those masks, no matter how ugly they are, there is a wonderful being that deserves all our praise and love.
I really desire for people to see this about themselves and do my best to love people for who they are, and not react out of disgust or dismay to the mask (which still happens quite a bit, but I’m learning). We all need to be seen and loved for who we actually are, that’s when we thrive. I believe that love is what draws the real person out from behind the mask. Disgust and dismay just keeps people wanting to hide.
It’s true that there is a common belief that you “can’t breathe” when you take your mask off—it’s considered too “dangerous” and risky to be vulnerable and real. But… risky to who? Definitely not our heart; it always rejoices when we be ourselves, and so do our friends!
Thanks
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Dear Dirk, thank you so much for dropping by and your wise and heartfelt comment. What you say makes so much sense to me. People often wear masks because they are often fearful of the world and fear being hurt. And then there are those who wear masks for their own gain but they too deserve our compassion for they do not realise that they harm themselves as much as others. Like you, I too am learning to accept people for who they are. This world needs love more than ever in the light of all the horrors that are happening. It’s the only way it can heal! Thank you once again for sharing your thoughts!
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Lovely poem Anjali…shadows, strangers and masks represent the world a stage for players…we are all come and play our roles and we really don’t know why we play one kind of role, we just justify by giving some reasons…we have no control to which place and which family we are born, we have to accept the way we come to this world, and do things which perhaps we seemingly have some control and have no control when we go out this world…
Have a Great week ahead and Merry Christmas!!!
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Thank you Nihar! I really liked the take you have on this poem. It made me look at my own poem in a different angle. What you say is so true, we really have no say over things, events or places. So much is happenstance. We can only control (if at all) our own reactions and attitudes to all the things you mention. Thank you for dropping by!
You too have a great week and Merry Christmas to you!
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You are right Anjali, we can have control few things and one very important aspect is our attitude, if we can make our gratitude our attitude, the world will be a lovely place where respect and appreciate others as others do to us…
Your poems are deeply absorbing and I enjoy your beautiful choice of words and flow of thoughts…
Many thanks…
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Thank you Nihar for your kind words!
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Yes!
You and your words are beautiful.
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Thank you for your kind words! 🙂
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Can you fancy a world without masks, anjali, where people interact genuinely and the everyday music of life is scaled in harmony? Your ‘mask’ set me thinking of such an idealistic possibility….best wishes…Raj.
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Thank you Rajagopalji for visiting my blog and helping me discover you. Thank you also for your very insightful comments. It would be wonderful if people would and could be genuine and do not feel the need for masks. I live in hope that such a thing would one day be possible!
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