when i get ready for work
i get dressed
i put on my clothes
i make sure to do my hair just right
i make sure to do my mask just right
gotta make sure theres no bumps
gotta make sure i am perfect
i dont know who im trying to impress
i guess im just trying to impress myself
i have to be good
so you'll want to talk to me
if im polite and smile and say thank you have a good evening
i hope that you'll smile and say thank you i hope you do as well
i still dont feel that our words are real
and my masks are not real
and underneath my perfectly tied hair
is a headache
is confusion
is fear

i want to rip off this uniform
feel each button as it pops and flies into the air
and my heart exposed
and my wounds exposed
i fall to my knees
put my head into my hands
and my mask plummets to the abyss
and my tears pour out like a welcome rain

2:29am 12-13-04 Erin Roberts