The Mask

Never give up; you never know until you try.

This poem, by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, was published in1896.

"We Wear the Mask"

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, -
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but O Great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask.

 

I see it every day.  So does God.  Take heart, dear ones.  So does God, and He cares.  I'm so glad I don't have to wear the mask with Him.