“Masquerade” by Maddie Agne

My mask once felt like

            a shield

against myself

Not wanting to see my face

            I joined the masquerade

and danced

until I died

            with strangers

            that could have been me

            or you

            or who I wish

                        I was

I danced

            until the mask

                        felt hot

                        and sweaty

                        and it slid

                        from my face

                        with my tears

And I fought

            the mask

begged it to stay

I dried my eyes

and glued it down

            so I could just stay

            in the masquerade

            and dance

            like I had died

Then one day

            someday

the glue started

            to crack

and people

            were leaving

            the masquerade

that version of me

            that could have been you

left me dancing on my own

with cracked glue

and a bleeding face

that no tears

            no sweat

could clean

It took time

            I always took time

before I touched the mask

and found no resistance

            glue gone

            my skin healed

and your hands were there too

            covering mine

pulling away

            my shield

And I saw your face

            and a world

            so bright and beautiful

once a masquerade

            now a celebration

of our mutual existence

            our stardust recipes

            our creationist lungs

                        and human hearts

The party-goers were people

            free to dance

            to sweat

            to love

like we would never die.

Maddie Agne is a Junior at UM and a former LSWA Student Assistant.  She's a poet and Creative Writing major hailing from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and hopes her (admittedly) teenage-rage poetry will reach readers of As We Are.