A masquerade, that’s my existence
I wear a pretty mask and keep my distance
Those who take notice flock to me
But it’s only my mask that they see

Afraid of my own visage, I
Embellish my façade and lie
I remain clinging to this foolish hope
That through these fallacies, I’ll cope

Tears and pain and hate stowed away
Behind a mask with a brilliant array

A careless comment knocks my mask loose
In mortification, I sob and mutter an excuse
This pathetic person cannot possibly be
The lovely mistress you thought to be me

Without my mask, I’m an evident mess
Opulent not in beauty but in stress
Avert your eyes, this is my ugly truth
The witnesses sneer, “How uncouth.”

So, I beg of you, please, I implore
Leave on my mask you so adore.