Helen McDonald - Behind the Mask

Cautious, we approach

 forgetting the smallness of talk

 We hold back, shyly

 sensing the loss 

Normal is an illusion 

conceals cracks in the veneer

 We stumble to connection,

stride the widening gap

 Evading another, so ingrained

 How do I know myself

when the mirror that is you

has gone dark?

 Can I gauge

 who I am

 adrift… 

dancing alone

 Muted, 

unable to share

 the hollow

 the disconnect

 Playgrounds empty of children

 theatres gone dark

 false personas

 in a virtual world

 I fall back

 pull on the glazed mask

 let the act begin