Masquerade

Have you ever been to a Masquerade?
Where people hide behind masks and play.
Let me take you to the Masquerade,
Where the battle of life is daily played.
The masquerade isn't for you or me,
But to catch a glimpse into the depths we must proceed.

Into the building we slowly walk,
Through the big double doors standing guard.
Into the office we must go,
For we must label ourselves to join the flow.
Out the door and down the hall,
Feeling encroached by the metal locker walls.
Stopping ourselves in the crosshairs of battle,
We await our glimpse of the masquerade.
Seconds tick by as we hear the gentle quiet,
Mixed with murmurs of the dance of the masquerade.
Finally, now, the time has come,
A bell rings and the world explodes.
The quiet shattered by voices of the dancers.
Countless bodies flow through that hall,
All dancing the dance of a masquerade ball.
The final number has just begun
And soon their masquerade will be done.

But before the end, my promise I will keep
A glimpse of the masquerade, for your eyes to see.
Stop, look, the queen just walked by
Followed by her minions, she thinks she owns the sky
Her minions follow her beg and call,
For she has power over them all.
Yet if you looked past the mask she's wearing,
You’ll see the pain she bearing.
For powerless she truly feels,
And perfection is her life's ideal.
Control over other's she must have,
To lessen the pain of loneliness inside.
For pity must be given the queen,
For the face under the mask can never been seen.
The fear of rejection of who she really is,
Forces her to constantly dance in the masquerade.

Turn your head, there he is.
The boy strutting like the stud he thinks he is.
Behold the king of the school,
You can tell he thinks he's just so cool.
Followed by his minions and fawned over by girls,
The king looks like he owns the world.
But take a look deeper into the eyes uncovered,
And you'll be surprised to see the pain inside.
For in being the king, you must be a "man"
Yet the ideal that he seeks can never be reached,
For the ideal "man" is but just a myth of society,
Forcing boys to kill their feelings.
The king must become someone he's not,
In order to keep his powerful spot.
Yet, the king must be pitied, along with the queen,
For the mask can never be removed while on the scene.
For if the mask was removed, everyone would see,
The king isn't the person he's supposed to be.
So all the King can do is dance in the masquerade,
And in the confines of his bedroom, where no one can see,
Shed the tears of pain and cry himself to sleep.

A few more examples and we will depart,
For the masquerade is almost over for the day.
There go the jokers and the clowns,
The ones who cover up their frowns,
And entertain everyone around,
For the attention makes their joy abound.
This bit of attention in the masquerade,
Is the only thing that gets them through the day.

Now, one's focus must turn to the saddest ones,
For they never got to choose the mask that they wore.
The outcasts, troublemakers, misfits and loners,
Labeled and masked by the royalty and minions.
Look beyond the mask they are forced to wear,
And you'll see the silent tears of pleading.
Wanting to be rid of the masks,
To choose for themselves who they are supposed to be.

Then there's the biggest group of them all,
The content in who they claim to be.
Yet even those have fears inside,
Of letting anyone see who he or she really are.

The tragic story of the masquerade,
Is one that is played out everyday.
All children learn to dance and play,
On the battlefield of the masquerade.
Freedom and truth are barely found,
For those without masks do not abound.

Do you now remember your masquerade?
The one where you danced and played.
Hiding behind masks who you really are,
Just to be part of the fakeness around.

Walk the halls of the masquerade,
Where the children dance and play.
Yet look behind the masks that they wear,
And reach out to who is really there.