I speak of the masks I hide behind
It's not just me
It's everyone
It's anyone who wants to be accepted for once in their life
I speak of the boy who came home crying
After seventh period ended
He ran from the teacher-less classroom
Trying his best to block out the teasing
The constant jokes that he even sounded like a girl
He went straight to his room
Sat on the bed
And escaped to his books
Before boarding the bus
He hides his bullet eaten heart
Covers his once tear-stained face
With a plastered-on smile
And struts down the hall
Joking and laughing
Along with everyone else
About the incident of the day before
A sad teased boy with a painted on smile

I speak of the girl who sits in the clarinet section
Finally off on a lunch break
From her shaking hand
Drops her cell phone into her bag
Just broke up over the phone
Tears leak from the sides of her eyes
She reaches into her bag
For a pair of dark sunglasses
And places them on her face
Covering her puffy red eyes
She pulls her hoodie over her head
Before slumping down in her chair
From the outside
She looks like everyone else
From the inside her heart has shattered into a million pieces
She acts like it was nothing
Because that's the way she's supposed to act
The way her friends expect her to act

I speak of myself
The girl who wants to show herself
But is afraid of what people will think
She is afraid they won't like her
Maybe they'll tease her
Maybe her friends won't like her anymore
But she wants to be herself
She wants to show the world
That she's something more than that quiet little bookworm
But she's scared
So she hides herself
With her nose in a book
Or keeps her thoughts locked up
Inside her head
Or never lets anyone glimpse upon her heart
A girl whose voice is still waiting to be heard

I speak of the face that is shown
When the mask is finally ripped off
A sad teased boy
A heartbroken girl
An unknown authoress
All part of the masquerade called "Life"
As for me
I now speak and command to be heard
I abandon my mask
For I no longer need it
So now I speak
For those to toss aside their masks
And show the world who we really are
And how we really feel