Her Mask

Everyday it is the same routine,
She puts on her mask to deceive the world.
She feels her face molding into it,
Indents in it, evidence of obsessive wearing.

Every damn day, it is the same repulsive mask,
Foreshadowing her pointless future.
But she is afraid to go outside without it,
Afraid of the piercing eyes of any life,
Afraid of the criticizing faces.

In a world of hiding behind a mask,
Something deep inside her desires to rip it off.
The mask prevents her form feeling natural,
For that, she hates the mask as much as she hates herself.

Looking in the mirror, she grips the suffocating mask,
Clawing at the mask, she screams in anguish.
Why can she not let it go?
Taking a deep breath, she tries again,
Peeling off the pale grayness of the mask.

Looking into the mirror, she sees the difference;
The difference between pretending to be someone she is not,
And the person she yearns to be: Herself.