A City of Masks
Would that we could
See more than darkened
Recesses of sight,
See the remembered
Days when naked smiles
Carried our light.
Would that we were
Unbound, freed of
Stylish shields, our
Voices full and open,
Unveiled, unfiltered
By cloth or truth.
The city beats a restless drum
Fatigued faces draped,
Hidden – the rictus belying the smile,
Covered – the open truth from nose to chin,
Lying – eyes dart, fear to suspicion,
Glazed visage of soulscapes,
Opaque to warmth and trust,
Speak the restless heart as
Covered words muffle and
Meaning shuffles to the floor.
This city has no skyline,
No vista replete with iconicity,
Only a random walk of encounter.
These streets admit no structure,
No edifice bounds the binding glance,
Eye to eye, above the shroud.
Edge to point, pathways traveled
By the unseen, the unwanted,
Unraveling the threads, the warm cloak
Of human compassion slides to the floor.
Would that we could
Speak, and see all that
Words may say. To see
The sunrise reflected,
Eye to eye above an open
Smile, naked as truth
Uncovered.
Would that this city,
This prison with unseen
Warden, melt in winter air,
A shadow of memory
Interred beneath streets
Littered with fear,
Swept clean with a smile.
Copyright © 2020 Lee Butler. All rights reserved.