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Thursday, April 23, 2020

MASQUERADE IN SEARCH OF A BALL




I finally gave in
and put on the mask
and went strolling
through the aisles

Me!
the one who always
colored outside the lines
only to find
I felt a strange sense
of belonging 
to be
just another
Chinese wannabe
(all you see
are my beady little eyes)

and when I walk by
people turn their heads
and exclaim
Who was that masked man?
(Tonto is roaming around
here someplace
shopping for a new
rainbow colored headband)

and I understand 
it's not so much
for my own protection
as it is for theirs

and I find it ironic 
as hell
and a big grin
splashes across my face
to think that society
only just now
has thought of a way
to protect itself
from me

26 comments:

  1. Does a smile still count under a mask? So much we can't see. Love the Lone Ranger reference.

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    Replies
    1. Good question. We are asked to "hide our light under a bushel" now--and the only clue we have to what someone is thinking is by reading the eyes.

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  2. I'm smiling at the ending too.
    Anna :o]

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  3. A smiling masked bandit -- and no one can see the smile, except in the eyes. Strange to think we might walk past our neighbor and never recognize the gray-haired masked person!

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  4. Loved the last stanza Great sense of humour

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  5. I agree with Myrna and Marja!

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  6. It is surreal, seeing people in masks walking around quite normally, although I don’t see many, mainly on TV and once at the doctor’s surgery, as I’m elf-isolating. Your poem about masks made me smile, Tim. I especially like the thought of someone ‘who always colored outside the lines’ aligned with the Lone Ranger, Tonto ‘shopping for a new rainbow colored headband’, and the ironic final stanza! It’s a shame no one can see your grin underneath the mask.

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  7. Being a mask wearer myself up until this week most people without have that look of some disdain as keeping a distance seems to be enouigh for them. Luckily they are beginning to relax some of the rules in Australia as the Covid numbers are reducing now. Let's hope that trend continues!

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    Replies
    1. So do I, though I have doubts now about whether things will ever be "just like before."

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  8. Dream realised....you have been dying to wear a mask or balaclava in the supermarket and now you can without a visit from Mr Plod. Keep grinning and smiling, eat your greens and stay safe)

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    Replies
    1. I normally only wear a mask when I am robbing the liquor store, so this is something totally new!

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    2. Silly Bugger !:) In Oz you only say this to someone you are fond of...just sayin in case you thought I was being mean to you.x

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    3. Never for a moment did I think you were being mean...but thanks for unmasking your true feelings! :)

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  9. I rarely go out anyway, but some of the masks I see are very creative.

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    Replies
    1. It does bring into question whether all the masks at Halloween will look more or less the same.

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