We all have our masks.
We hide behind them.
We fit in with them.
We trust tthem.

Masks of bravery.
To show we have control.
To show we know what to do.
When really we are terrified.
Unable to comprehend.

Masks for our friends. To make us fit in.
To blend in when we want to stick out.
To act normally when we want to be different.

Masks to be happy.
Put on a smiling face they say.
Laugh at this joke
they say.
We laugh and smile when all we want to do is go home and cry.

What are we without a mask?
We are unique.
We are hurt.
We feel like we can't trust anyone.
We hope we will find someone who understands us.

Who can I trust.
Not my family.
Not my teachers.
Not most of my friends.

You.  
I can trust you.

Stan Lee.
The real hero of the pen.
The man who set our minds free.
The man who cheered us up again and again.
You will be missed,
But your work outlives you.
Cap and his fist.
Tony and Pepper too.
You created such a list.
Stan Lee WE will remember you!

Time runs faster than life.
Runs faster than love.
In time all but hope is lost.
Nothing remains.
In time friendships thrive.
Time is saved in memories of love.
You must live faster than time kills.

I saw how her boyfriend treated her.
I gave her a way out,
She turned me away.
I was there for her diagnosis.
I was there for the celebration.
I asked again.
And again I fail.
She turned the other way.
For three months nothing was said.
Boy can I choose ‘em

Late on New Years night,
We rode home on a charter bus.
There she laid on me.
The twinkle of hope yelled silently in her eyes.
I kissed her atop the head.
That sparked the worst fire I’ve ever lit.
We dated for months.
All was great,
but she sat planning of ways to say goodbye.
It came all too soon.
Boy can I choose ‘em.

I wake up with a start and run to my notebook.
I draw and write all night.
I have a plan.
I have help to ask.
Then I bring it up
And she laughs I’m my face.
I never ask.
Boy can I choose ‘em

How can I trust?
How can find her?
Why am I the black cat?

I spend a season away from the drama.
I make friends I will always remember.

The missing verse.  
The one that burns to write.
The girl I can’t ask.
I regret that one night.  
The night I didn’t take my shot.
Boy can I choose ‘em