Member Poem

Every day I masquerade as somebody else.
I mask my sorrow by a brittle smile
I wander like a river
Among the rocks of silence
There is a reason behind my pregnant silence
There is pain in my vermilion heart
Hopelessness flowing in my blue blood
Still I say happiness is my crown!
I may not be like a clown
Whose mask is visible
But even a mask is masked by a mask!
I wear invisible masks every day
My past is the son of incubus
In my lonely laughter
Tears have turned to ashes
I remember my name
But lost its rainbow home
Some people can be found
Only in my memories
Some things survive
Only in my dreams
My pain is unseen
My desires are unfulfilled
My muffled sobs unheard
I know expressing my emotions
Would not bring any change
I lost my loving husband
But for the well-being
Of my little children
I became a ‘Picasso of masked emotions’!
* First published in Scarlet Leaf Review