exe7

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!