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Teen Poetry #3
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Ethan Halo
Senior Member
since 2000-04-28
Posts 793
on the roof again

0 posted 2000-07-10 08:24 PM


*i know there's another poem posted in here about wearing masks, but i finished this one this morning and i can't help the coincidence! i hope you enjoy*


the Mask i wear

wake up in the morning to the same old face.
sore eyes with an insomnia suitcase
hangin' underneath on tear-streaked cheeks.
a dilapidated smile unused for weeks.
reach out and turn the faucet on;
wash off the grimy suit that i have donned.
there's already yelling through the bathroom door.
"You'd better hurry up or you'll get some more."
more swings to my back, more swings to my face.
wish the bus came sooner so i could escape.
i reach into the drawer for my happy Mask
and hope it answers the questions i know my friends will ask.

"Oh, I just fell down some stairs."
"No, I don't see a bruise there."
"I tripped over my friend's skateboard..."
"No, I'm sure that mark was there before."

i look out the window from the very back seat.
i'd want to die, but i feel too weak.
i get off the bus with my Mask on;
say a prayer to make the day be long.
and while my friends all care, they just don't know.
the place i fear is the place called home.
so i paint a bright smile onto my Mask
and hope it answers all those questions they ask.

"Oh, I just fell down some stairs."
"No, I don't see a bruise there."
"I tripped over my friend's skateboard..."
"No, I'm sure that mark was there before."

when the bell rings at the end of the day,
i have to leave a world where i feel safe.
and the same yellow bus that took me away,
brings me back to the world i hate.
to my room and shut the door real tight.
concentrate on homework with all my might.
i hope they just yell at each other tonight.
cause tonight i don't have the strength to fight.
but i know you'll scream things to make me feel small.
and you'll take your swings 'til your hands are raw.
and i'll lie the answers to the questions they'll ask
so nobody sees the tears beneath my Mask.

"Look at all the things that you've done wrong."
Close my eyes and put the Mask back on.
My eye is black and my smile is cracked,
but no one can touch the Me behind the Mask.


< !signature-->

We all got our demons.
We all got somethin' to atone for.


[This message has been edited by Ethan_Halo (edited 07-10-2000).]

© Copyright 2000 Ethan Halo - All Rights Reserved
Kittie
Member
since 2000-07-08
Posts 103

1 posted 2000-07-10 09:15 PM


All I can say is WOW!  This really made me cry and hurt inside, I know the feeling to hide behind the mask.  Hopefully things work out in life for you, and keep up the remarkable poem, I really enjoyed it to the point I'm speechless.
~Kittie



LoveAll
Member
since 2000-05-24
Posts 148
B'dale, USA
2 posted 2000-07-10 09:39 PM


That was so amazing...I truely can feel your hurt.  I just hope you have talked to someone if something like this is going on at home.  Wonderful poem, I will never forget it.  Keep writing!

"Of all those arts in which the wise excel,
Nature's chief masterpiece is writing well."
~Essay on Poetry, John Sheffield

"Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint."
~Isaiah 40:3


Erin
Member Elite
since 2000-06-15
Posts 2527
~Chicago~
3 posted 2000-07-11 12:53 PM


oh wow ethan...this is a good poem...i know what it feels like to go through this...but for some reason god only picks certain people out for it...i am here if you ever want to talk...or just say hello...

~IF YOU WANT SOMETHING VERY BADLY~SET IT FREE~IF IT COMES BACK TO YOU~ITS YOURS FOREVER~IF IT DOESNT IT WAS NEVER YOURS TO BEGIN WITH~

TAP2
Member
since 2000-06-29
Posts 211
Morris, Il USA
4 posted 2000-07-11 12:59 PM


Ethan,
Blew my "the Mask" out of the water. The pain you convey is felt in each and every line. You just acquired a permanent fan. This is truly amazing work.

Thomas A. Plemmons< !signature-->

"I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss The Dance"

-Garth Brooks-


[This message has been edited by TAP2 (edited 07-11-2000).]

Ethan Halo
Senior Member
since 2000-04-28
Posts 793
on the roof again
5 posted 2000-07-11 02:26 AM


thank you all so very much for the kindly criticism! it means a great deal to know people enjoy this. thanks for havin the patience to read and the willingness to reply. i'll try and get to all of yours too, if not tonite, tomorrow. thanks again.

"Do you know how to get courage?You do the thing that scares you the most, then you have courage."
"Seems like a screwed up way to get courage, sir."

Jeremy Halstead
Senior Member
since 2000-06-01
Posts 569
Morris, Ill. U.S.A
6 posted 2000-07-11 06:13 AM


Well, I'd love to be able to pick at it a little bit, but I've got this little rule.  I only give critisism if I think I could have truly done better...there's just no way.
I've only read two of your poems, but they are probably the two best and most powerful pieces I've read in here.  check out my futile little poem call "Behind the Make-Up"...it's about a week and a half old so you might have to search a little.  Please, keep me in awe..I love it.

Jeremy

"Time is the matter, and in a matter of that all wounds will heal and all scars shall fade."

EroseGrover
Junior Member
since 2000-07-09
Posts 44
SD,CA 92126
7 posted 2000-07-11 06:29 AM


Wow thats a very real poem and it happens like that all the time! I hope your not writing this from your own experince!Thats a really good poem keep it up
LoveBug
Deputy Moderator 5 Tours
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697

8 posted 2000-07-11 01:58 PM


This is a wonderfully written poem, but it's so sad. The saddest part is that this happens every day. I hope and pray that this doesn't apply to you.


"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." -Oscar Wilde
"The robbed that smiles steals something from the thief" -Shakespea

Kit McCallum
Administrator
Member Laureate
since 2000-04-30
Posts 14774
Ontario, Canada
9 posted 2000-07-12 05:56 AM


This was expressed with such powerful emotions Ethan. I also hope that this is not personal experience, for you've captured it with such realism. It is truly an incredible poem that touched me deeply. Very well written Ethan.

Best wishes,
/Kit

heatherbear
Junior Member
since 2000-04-30
Posts 48

10 posted 2000-07-12 10:00 PM


This is an awesome poem!!!  It is very sad and I am glad that I have never put on quite that mask but so many people have.  It is a very awful part of life-abuse should never be!!  Great work!

~~Heather~~

Martini
Member
since 2000-07-11
Posts 308
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
11 posted 2000-07-13 11:28 AM


Ethan
You amaze me more with every peice of yours I read!
I am simply in awe.

If you ever need to talk, email me, I have been told I'm a very good listener.
ForeverYoung515@yahoo.com

"In three words I can sum up everything I learned about life: It Goes On"
~Robert Frost

Lovely_Kris
Member
since 2000-07-11
Posts 176

12 posted 2000-07-13 11:02 PM


Great work. I think this a wounderful poem. I hope to read more of your poems and i hope things get better.
Lovely_Kris

Chel
Senior Member
since 2000-07-01
Posts 511
Baltimore, MD, USA
13 posted 2000-07-14 10:14 AM


Ethan, this was a very real, strong poem.  I see stuff like this all the time and can only pray for these people.  Keep your head up.

Chel


"True friends stab you in the front"
"Always do your best, you will always succeed"

dreamy_eyes
Member
since 2000-06-17
Posts 67

14 posted 2000-07-15 04:54 AM


WOW!This poem really touched my heart.  I know what it is like to have troubles at home and it seems that the world has turned it's back on you but I've never experienced anything like this.  If you ever need someone to talk to itdepartmentsccc@ic24.net.

Love Deb
     -x-

KEEP SMILING                      

Artic Wind
Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 8080
Realm of Supernatural
15 posted 2007-12-01 11:11 PM


Enjoyed

ARCTIC WIND

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