I walk with poise and practised grace,

A confident smile, always fixed in place,

My words are calm, my eyes are bright,

But darkness exists beneath this light.

Each laugh rehearsed, each smile a role,

A silent war within my soul,

For deep inside, a storm is cast,

Yet few can see behind my mask.

I hide my fears in convincing lines,

And my aching heart in grand designs,

No one suspects and no one can trace,

The deepening cracks spreading across my face.

I have measured silence, disguised I charm,

An effective shield from pain and harm,

While sorrow claws beneath my skin,

I keep it locked securely within.

At night I lay the mask aside,

When no one sees, no need to hide,

The mirror shows a man undone,

Not broken yet, but too scared to run.

My tears run silently down my cheek,

As they have done for many a week,

A soggy pillow where I lay my head,

But not a word to the world is said.

However dawn will rise, the world does wake,

And back on goes the mask and the smile so fake,

I am the man who bears what no one can ask,

And lives each day behind this smiling mask.