Lights, Camera, Action!

Stage 1: Lights!

The flashes of eyes in the crowd,

Scanning, waiting, watching.

Picking apart your flaws, your insecurities.

You try to smile, and be yourself,

But they don’t want that.

“You should dye your hair.”

“Why not wear this color instead?”

The haunting, everyday song.

So, that is why we wear the mask!

In the end, we all put on the mask.

Stage 2: Camera!

They say, “fake it ‘till you make it.”

I guess they are right.

That’s why we use the mask.

But no one knows we even have the mask on.

“Smile for the camera!”

“3, 2, 1, cheese!”

The flash of the eyes,

Accepting the facade you wear,

Finally treating you as one.

Stage 3: Action!

The hollow feeling…

sinking in your chest.

“Why did I choose this mask?”

The haunting longing for something real.

Surrounded by the prettiest faces.

But disgusted by the filth underneath.

“THEY’RE ALL FAKE I TELL ‘YA!”

“THE LIES! THE SMILES, THE MASK!”

...the facade?

Stage 4: Reality

“Did you see that man?” “He was insane!”

The chorus of hollow laughter,

And the sense of dread.

His words still ring in the air,

The ecstatic laughter of the man,

And the truth behind his words.

But we still sing the same song.

“Lights, Camera, Action!”

The smiles shine just as bright,

And the mask remains

~Okami