WE WEAR THE MASK

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!

We Wear the Mask is a lyrical poem about the lives of African Americans after the Civil War.

The poet explains how the people had to pretend that everything is better and the mental torture

they went through. The poet is including himself as a part of the human race rather than speaking

from personal experience. This poem reflects the miserable plight of African Americans forced

to hide their painful realities and frustrations under the mask of happiness and contentment. To

survive, they had to bury their sufferings, miseries, and pain at the bottom of their hearts. The

toxic and shared environment never allowed them to open their hearts without resultant agony

and distress. The speaker suggests that we should not allow people to know our sufferings.

Instead, we should let them believe in our masked faces.