What you are about to read is a poem about the figurative masks we as human beings wear to hide what we are feeling inside. I wrote this from the perspective of someone who is really hurting, but doesn't want anyone else to see how broken they are. This poem is for anyone struggling to keep up the image they think they need to, whatever the reason may be. We all go out and put on some sort of mask to hide emotions we don't want anyone else to see, and this poem is a representation of that. It can be hard to take off that mask and let someone in, but there is one person we don't have to wear it with. God. I hope you enjoy this poem, and I hope you really let the meaning within the words take root in your life.

A look in the mirror, what do I see

Who exactly is staring back at me

I remove my mask and don't recognize

this being that appears before my eyes

The mask showed a smiling and cheerful creature

It hid the truth revealed in my natural features

Now the reflection shows what no one else can see

There is a broken person staring back at me

I close my eyes to avoid seeing the pain

Sometimes I wonder if I'm going insane

The sight before me is far too much to bear

this broken being filled with despair

I look in the mirror at the being reflected

and I look past the pain I had already expected

Not everything I see is twisty and dark

There is a light deep within this wounded heart

The masks that I wear have an amount of honesty

A part of me feels joy in spite of all the adversity

It was then that I realized who the mask was really for

it reminds me of the light inside that is winning this war

I may be feeling sorrow on this temporary night

and I may be feeling weary from all that I've had to fight

but joy will always come along and win

and the morning will be brighter in the very end

So, let me ask you some things that will challenge you deep inside

What mask are you wearing? What are you trying to hide?

Are you wearing it for others to be seen a certain way,

or is your mask for personal benefit to help you get through the day

Whatever your reason for living life in a mask know that you're not alone

We all put one on each day so others see only what is shown

The people we all pretend to be, they aren't who God really loves

He loves each of us for who we are because that is what He does

So take off the mask with Him and just be who you are

For God loves the broken and wounded and the hearts covered in scars

You don't have to hide from your heavenly Father

He see who you are, His sons and His daughters

You don't have to reveal your heart to every person

But let someone see what is going on within

God didn't create you to face life by yourself

He put people on the earth who can always help

The mask may help you in feeling like you're sane

but wearing it can be lonely and it doesn't remove the pain

Taking it off for someone to see what you are feeling inside

will provide you with a place where you do not have to hide

I look at my reflection now and I begin to recognize

this being that appears before my eyes

A strong warrior is now staring back at me

A person who is loved by God, that is what I now see