Mask,

Wake up child. Prepare for the trials that will come today.                                      Dress in your armour made of cotton. Wear your hair so it covers your face, hope that you will be forgotten.
Don’t dare forget your mask; the mask that shelters you from judgemental eyes.       The mask that keeps the anxiety that consumes you hidden.                                      All they’ll see is a manufactured smile on a painted face.
Hide away the icy waves that crash against your chest, swallowing your heart with every taken breath.
Don’t let them hear the hammering of your heart in your ears, humming and drumming, desperately trying to drown out the ever-insistent fears.
Hide away. Stay safe and protected behind the mask you so willingly put on everyday.
But wait child. Don’t fret.
Take off your mask, your smile will shine brighter than any star. It will burn up the worries and keep the darkness afar.
Without the barrier to blur your vision, maybe you could see that everyone wears a mask.