We all live our lives
Hidden behind the masks we switch out based on who we're around:
Fake smiles for friends and family;
Painful, quiet thoughtfulness for coworkers, employers, and educators;
Horrible secrets we keep from everyone we meet;
From everyone we love

And sometimes, these masks are gorgeous,
Like those you'd see at a masquerade.
Masks that mimic what's really there,
Yet hide it from sight as well.
And everyone who wears these masks
Will look and a mirror and think to themselves:
"Who am I? Why don't I recognize this person reflected back at me?"
It's the mask.

We wear the mask.
We hide behind it.
But when did the mask become us?
When did it become everything we are?
When did these masks start taking control?
Will we let this continue?

When does it stop?

Where has the real justice gone from this world
That those who were not able have been lost
We leave all our neighbors in bitter cold
Forgetting to give for fear of the cost
So much pain comes from those that we could save
Yet we focus on ourselves, our comfort
We have been learning to waste all our days
And to sleep instead of staying alert
People are constantly dying alone
Without friend or family to miss them
Cannot a little friendliness be shown
To those given nothing and were condemned
        We pluck flowers, stopping them from their growth
        They'll die without living, and die alone

The willows shade me from the sun,
On that warm summer's day.
The wind plays lazily with my hair,
As the rest of the world slips away.

The lazy brook burbles by,
Smoothing out rough stones
The breeze whispers in my ear,
Secrets no human knows.

I forget the world in this moment,
The drama, the pain, and the fight.
How can everything be so wrong,
When everything now feels right?