I used to act when I was young,
and people claimed that I was good.
To don a mask and live with it,
upon the stage, as I should.

I do not act now, when I'm old,
but those around me do.
They don their masks and live with them,
while off the stage, without a cue.

I shout at them and try to reason,
"Why do these masks you wear?
Free yourselves from inhibition,
from intolerance, from fear."

But my pleas on deaf ears fall,
And the the people refuse to come to.
They refuse their removal from their faces,
Their masks stay solid and "true".

I used to act when I was young,
upon the stage, as I should -

But now -
when I need it the most -
no curtains, no lights, no props, no post.
I cannot act -
I cannot bear -
I have forgotten how to wear -

A mask.