In shadows and in-between glances
I see my true self hidden behind an ornate mask
Of expectations and of pressures
Crafted, and then grafted, onto me against my will
A rictus smile hides the blessures
A great pretender which proves itself up to the task
I hold my breath, I wait for chances
To pull back the mask, to let myself finally spill
– SR Romney 2020
Which hat should I wear today?
Which role should I try to play?
The person you want to see?
Or the one that’s really me?
Should I don the bright smile?
Or the smirk full of guile?
Face turned up in full surprise?
Or a twinkle in my eyes?
I have many masks, you know
Many that I choose to show.
Which I share and which I hide
That is for me to decide.
– SR Romney 2020
There was a man who was a mask
And every where he’d go
He’d show the world another face
One nobody would know
He’d walk all over, street to street
He’d wander day to day
And every passerby he’d greet
A new and different way
And no one new when he would come
No one knew when he’d leave
No one knew what he had in mind
The cards hid up his sleeve
And though the specter of this man
Loomed in the town so tall
When all took time to stop and think
No one knew the man at all
– Shaman Romney 2019