No matter what anyone says,
no matter how something appears,
how someone presents themselves
matters more than people might want to admit…
even when we are young,
we all have a certain image within our mind
of how we see ourselves
and how we may want others to see us…
some people dress in a certain way
because they want to emulate the appearance
and the fashion of someone whom they might revere and idolise…
we all have our favourite clothes
that, when we wear them, give us
a feeling of comfort, confidence,
and some people take a great deal of time
and pride in selecting what they are going to wear…
some people equate a particular outfit
to a suit of armour that a medieval knight
might have worn to protect themselves -
and although the attire that modern people,
as well as soldiers, wear today
may not be as encompassing,
nor as metallic, from head to toe,
the “armour” of a suit and tie,
or the colours and badges of a uniform,
can give someone that much needed
faith in their own abilities to be able
to do what they must…
what someone wears can affect
how someone acts…
what someone wears can affect
how someone speaks
and how someone is heard…
what someone wears can affect
the perception of people;
however, appearances can be,
and generally are, deceptive,
and should be treated as only
as the surface level of something,
as well as someone -
because everything and everyone
is more than how they portray themselves to be,
and most people are more than how they appear to others,
and for some people that is
how they get through life,
that is how they protect themselves
from all that is going on around them,
and that is how they have learned
to become a part of the society
that they find themselves within…
sometimes some people choose things deliberately,
and sometimes some people choose things
without knowing why they feel drawn to them -
because some things feel obligatory,
while some things just feel natural;
and what someone wears can be a good indicator
of how someone feels about themselves,
or how they want other people to feel about them,
and then there are those who
just wear what works best for them,
and when they see themselves in a mirror
they say to themselves that no matter
where they are and who they are with
how they want to be seen is,
for better or for worse, just their look.
Psychological
A Poem A Day #389: Don’t Stay Silent
Episode #26: “You” (TV series) – Season 1, a review
My Poem “Masked”
Masks are everywhere these days
and they are being worn
by many people in many ways –
but some masks have been worn
for much longer and for more reasons
than for what and for why some people
now wear them for and for what
they now wear them
to protect themselves from.
The masks that people wear
every day, sometimes for years,
look like a face that you might
remember and recognize –
but beyond, behind, and below
that mask of skin and muscle
often lies the real person:
someone who may be crying out
from inside a deep and dark tunnel
where they are troubled by
thoughts, feelings, and emotions
that at times of intense trauma
make them feel like they are
a prisoner within the cell of a prison
the walls of which no one else
could ever possibly understand.
People often wear masks
which have smiles upon them –
however, in reality, the true face
that they are wearing on the inside
is one like that of a sad clown
with tears running down their face
and ruining the makeup that they wear
to continue to sell the facade
that helps them not break down
physically, mentally, and emotionally
whenever someone gets too close
for comfort and they start
to stop and stare.
Wearing masks is not a new thing,
however the wearing of material masks
has become more normalised
and is more prevalent than ever…
people often wear emotional masks
so that they can go through life
and are not constantly being asked
whether they are alright
or whether there is something the matter.
Things like the physical pain
and the psychological anguish
that people have to daily cope with
are easier to hide when seen
from far away but they are harder
to disguise when seen up close…
some people need to wear masks,
because who they reveal themselves to be –
perhaps when they are alone
in the shadows of their bedroom
and listening to the music
of their favourite artist,
when they can finally let
their inner-self be free –
is often not the same person
who they want to see,
or want to be seen,
in reflection, or by anyone,
because the face of who
they really are is that of someone
whom only they know
and whom only they know how to be.
markthepoet.me 