"Mardigras"

by Lianne Olive Hennig

I sight a person in the street.
Our straying eyes may chance to meet,
But no response, within or out,
Is formed and we go on about
The mundane mission of our day.

Acquaint a stranger in a room
And even though a friendly bloom
May strike a moment’s conversation,
To purpose further meets evasion
And a parting of the way.

With family and even friends,
Relationships have certain trends,
That at the slightest provocation
Could bring about a separation
Through having had a say.

Society each has a mask.
Removing them purports a task
That leaves the wearer strangely bared
To all of which he may be scared
And usually keeps at bay.

Idiosyncrasies aside,
We may harmoniously abide
As friends if innocence could sway the
Sophistication of the day, and
Souls released could finally play.

If only everyone were bared,
Then all could see that all were scared
And what we hated in another
Was only a mask that used to smother
A soul that had lost its way.