We all wear masks,
Some are elegant,
Some are deviant,
And some bizarre-looking.

We all wear masks,
Be it brilliant or dull,
Extravagant or simple;
Some a smile, some gloomy,
And some a frown.

For we are all theatrical;
We go about our masks,
We don them very well,
We want our faces kept hidden,
That no sunlight could touch them.
And we display ourselves,
That this is the real me, you, us.

We always look in the mirror,
Adoring our masks,
Obsessing over it,
Till we completely forget
What our true faces look like.
So we state to impress,
As we gather in a masquerade,
Dancing like devils in the night of lies.

The light is on, I can see her through the window.
Like clockwork,
A shadow passes, cup in hand and hair in a bun.
The routine continues as the days melt into each other.
That shadow has become a friend,
A companion I meet on the path I walk.
She has no name and the only story is the one I have created for her in my mind.
A story of sadness,
Of a lonely silhouette the world has forgotten.
Why is that her story? Why have I not given her happiness, love, companionship?
It is in the way she walks across the lighted window.
Her head hangs down as if she lacks the strength to hold it up against the world,
Shoulders hunched as if she hugs herself because there is no one else to do so.
It is in the way her hands seem to grasp the mug,
As if it is her only anchor in this life.
It is in the way she stands, dark, against the light around her,
As if she is trying to light a fire from ashes.

The light is on; a shadow passes through the window,
Like clockwork, every day as I pass on the street.
Days come and nights go, the routine continues.
There she is again though I barely see her, like the painting on a wall you stopped seeing.
Until the day I pass on the street,
The clockwork stops.
The light is off, no shadow passes the window.
“They say she ended it herself but no one knows who she was.” A stranger murmurs to his friend.
No one did, the wind whispers as a shadow crosses the window one last time.
*But you could have.

the waves in her mind
crash against her trust issues
as if thoughts of heartbreak
rest along the shoreline

painful memories from her past
live in her head like lyrics from love songs
she'll never forget the melodies of

skeletons in her closet, are catching dust
next to broken dreams of a perfect relationship
with someone who won't let her fall flat on her face
when she falls madly in love with them

reality keeps her up late at night
forever reminding her how fatal love can be
and what can happen if she loses herself
trying to find someone
who will make her heart beat right, again

We live our lives with shuddering breathes,
Hoping tomorrow will be as fulfilling as today never is.
Open wide are our eyes
And yet closed all the time.
Blind to life passing by.
So bright is the light
Yet only shadows rise.
You welcome the day
I welcome the night
But are any of us alive?