The Mask

You know the face I show you.

You know the words I say.

You know the smile I learned to wear

To make the darkness stay away.

You call me strong.

You call me fine.

You never see what waits behind.

I built this face from shattered glass,

Painted it with borrowed light.

I learned to laugh when everything

Inside me screamed at night.

You see the armor.

You see the skin.

You see the man I let you in.

But underneath the surface

There's a war I cannot win.

Would you still call me beautiful

If you saw what I conceal?

Would you still reach for me

If you knew the things I feel?

YOU ACCEPT THE MASK!

BUT WOULD YOU ACCEPT ME?

The wounds beneath the surface,

The things you cannot see.

YOU LOVE THE FACE I WEAR!

BUT WOULD YOU STAY IF IT BROKE?

If I tore away the smile

And finally let you see the smoke?

Because underneath this armor—

THERE'S A HELL YOU'LL NEVER KNOW.

Every day I wear another layer,

Another lie, another shield.

I have become so good at hiding

I don't know what is real.

I say, “I'm okay.”

You say, “I know.”

But neither one of us believes it.

You want the version without the scars—

The one who doesn't need to heal.

I'm terrified that if I stumble,

If the mask falls to the floor,

You'll see the weight I've carried

And you won't want me anymore.

YOU ACCEPT THE MASK!

BUT WOULD YOU ACCEPT ME?

The wounds beneath the surface,

The things you cannot see.

YOU LOVE THE FACE I WEAR!

BUT WOULD YOU STAY IF IT BROKE?

If I tore away the smile

And finally let you see the smoke?

Because underneath this armor—

THERE'S A HELL YOU'LL NEVER KNOW.

TAKE IT OFF!

Take the mask!

TEAR IT AWAY!

Look at me!

LOOK AT WHAT'S LEFT!

Don't turn away!

You wanted the truth—

HERE IT IS!

Every scar!

Every wound!

Every night

I never told you about!

THIS IS WHAT'S UNDERNEATH!

I'm tired of being easy to love.

Tired of being what you need.

Tired of hiding every fracture

So nobody has to bleed.

Maybe I don't need your rescue.

Maybe I don't need you to fix me.

I just need to know—

If you see all of me,

Will you still stay?

YOU ACCEPT THE MASK!

NOW ACCEPT THE FACE!

Accept the fear.

Accept the pain.

Accept the parts I cannot erase.

YOU ACCEPT THE LIGHT!

NOW ACCEPT THE DARK!

Don't love me only

When I'm hiding all my scars.

Because underneath this armor,

Underneath this perfect lie—

THERE'S A HUMAN BEING

JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE.

I AM NOT THE MASK!

I am the wound beneath it!

I AM NOT THE SMILE!

I am the scream beneath it!

I AM NOT THE LIE!

I am everything you couldn't see!

IF YOU WANT ME—

TAKE ALL OF ME!

You accepted the mask.

I wonder...

If you had seen what was underneath—

Would you have stayed?

Because it's a lot.