Your Mask Will Kill You

slowly but surely...

Image by Tara Winstead

I know,
how funny;
your own creation
causes your demise.
But it will,
I know.

Your first iteration
will work wonders.
It might not be perfect
not even noticeable
but it won’t need to be, then,
you won’t be hiding then,
not fully; just veiling like shade.
But it will act
as intended,
your mask with a smile.

Some time later,
you’ll need it again,
or want it more
and need more of it,
a extra piece there
to hide that spot,
pull that lip
the smile is dippppping,
close that eye
lest they see it cry.

A time will come
when the mask is done
and nothing else remains,
when you’ve worn it too long
and you no longer see a mask,
when its structure has moulded
to what once could remove it.

A time will come
when this mask you moulded
with perfect precision
becomes your parasite.
It will kill you,
this mask of yours,
a slow removal
of every part that was once you
replaced with acceptance
in worlds you once hid from.

Image by Tara Winstead