Poem: Masks, Asks and Tasks

The masks we wear, the asks that we bear, and the tasks that we do. For what? The show. must. go. on.

Poem: Masks, Asks, and Tasks

Let’s put the mask back on
For who would we be
Without them on our face —
The index of the mind they say
We are scared to bare
The fear of drawing us near
They all like us to smile
And do what they have always wanted —
Be the mask that does the task
that they unabashedly ask.

Frozen cheeks and curvy lips
From the start to forever
A smile etched for eternity
Hiding heartaches and tears
Concealing sighs and sorrow
Just doing the acts destined
The song and the dance task -
that the audience ask
All is well, in putrid content, they bask
As they see only the inscrutable mask.

You say that you have never cried
I have spit, gurgled, and drowned,
The saltiness of the tears -
Filling my eyes like the sea
But…
It was the deep, salty sea
That bore the first-ever lives
A bit of that sea -
now flows through my eyes
Wetting my hope that one day
the masks, asks, and tasks
will all be just gone.

~Ashok Subramanian © 2024

#masks #tasks #chores #love #romance #poetry #poetrycommunity