Mask

To a friend who doesn't know

what she has.

 

~+~  ~+~  ~+~

False smiles,

sweetened lies...

buried beneath the ground

somewhere deep.

The scars on your skin

reveal the truth,

but are hidden beneath

long sleeves.

Flamed red

and reopened still,

you open your wounds

once again.

 

Dark mask

covers who you used

to be.

Can you find yourself anymore?

Your true self

has disappeared beneath a mask,

the mask that covers

all the pain you bear.

But don't you know

that this built wall

keeps you from the light?

I weep for you,

cry,

and I am going

to help you out

of your hole

that you made to

trap yourself.

 

Look around

and see what you have.

See who cares for you.

The pain is deeper than

the scars on your skin,

metal against flesh,

sweeter than chocolate.

Turn to me

and see who cares.

I care.

I won't judge you.

I know the pain

you bear beneath that mask.

It's as dark as mine.

I can help you to

find yourself again,

to shed the mask.

Whisper to me your secrets.

I'll keep them safe.

Turn to me

and lean on me.

I'll be here for you.

I won't give up on you.

 

Our souls share

the same darkness,

the same pain.

We see the same.

Don't turn away yet.

Come to me,

and lean on me.

Cry as much as you want.

I will comfort you.

 

You know I am your friend.

Author's Note

Once, I had a friend who was so sweet, but she cut herself to feel something. A mask covered her face, hiding her true pain underneath. I wrote this for her; I never showed it to her. Still, I was there for her as long as she was there. Then, of course, she graduated.

Friends help so much, even when we are in pain. When all seems lost, a true friend makes things better. Just them being there is enough, though it doesn't seem like it.
It's the most wonderful thing in the world.

Reviews

[ScaryTrees]

i have a feeling that you gave much to this friend
they were very fortunate to have you if only for a short time
this piece paints the picture very well
lovely EV

[Inyourshadow]

I love this as friendship is a gift no shop will ever stock and yet everyone needs, their constant company to aid one another through the rough times is applauded only by the laughter and the tears as they should always be comfortable to do both together. Love the honest heart felt poem, keep em' coming

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

I once wrote a poem about a friend who wore the mask of constant laughter and your poem put brought this to mind. I remember the day I wrote it I kept watching her laugh and all I could feel was the pain that lay underneath her mask, thus the birth of What Lies Underneath. I gave it to her and after she read it she cried because she realized I could truly see her but I also realized that I saw her so well because I could also see myself in her. Very well written E.V.