A Beautiful Lie  You tell me I am beautiful,I so enjoy the lie,That I don’t bother to correctAnd with a truthful sigh.  You tell me I am beautiful,And for today I am,I will not say, “oh, no, no way”I will not stop the sham.  You tell me I am beautiful,I so want to believeThat if I saw me through your eyes,That beauty’s what I’d see.  You tell me I am beautiful,I wonder why you do,For I can see me as I am,And I can see the truth.  But for today, I will believe,I’ll treasure all you say,Just for today I will enjoy,And save the truth for later days    The Mask  I wake up and look in the mirror,I see what they don’t see,I know what they don’t knowWhat they don’t want to know.So I put on my happy face, And go out to start the day.    I step out and see the world,Gray and empty as it isNothing special, nothing new,I see people talking,They don’t look upI am invisible as the windAs they walk past.  As I pass a man alone,I smile and nod, he smiles backWe have connected, but not reallyI have thoughts and feelingsThings I could say,But no one cares, no one hearsSo silent I remain.  I keep my happy face onNever let it dropNever let it fadeNever let them see what lies beneathThe painOf other times and other daysWhen I tried and failed to findA place to fit in.   As I arrive back safe at homeI take it offThis mask I wearI don’t need it anymoreTo be just meAlone.