“We shall never cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And to know the place for the first time.”
T.S. Eliot
mirrors and eyes
everywhere i look
North, East, South and West
above and below
reflect my many masks
there is never a place to hide
really
so the masks i welcome
until
every glimpse
of every piece
of the puzzle of me
leads me home
to that one true mask
that faceless face
collected (co lec ted)
where i always was
always will be
submission for Poetics with Mish at dVerse.
“that faceless face”….reminds me of the face in our collaborative poem, Paul. I love how each glimpse of the puzzle of you is leading you home. That is the journey. Beautiful writing.
Tis the very same face Sherry…glad you enjoyed.
I like the idea of the underlying true mask.
Masks upon masks… I wonder if we ever reach whats hidden deep below…
Is it the “true” you, that you will at last see, hidden under all those masks?
I think it’s the true you in all the masks and the unmasked 😉
The perfect quote for your poem, Paul. Always was / always will be. Marvelous!
Thanks Jilly
No, you can never hide from the true self, no matter how many masks. I really like the lines:
‘every glimpse
of every piece
of the puzzle of me’
and
‘that faceless face
collected (co lec ted)’.
Thanks Kim.
That “one true self” only exists as children, I think, and we quickly learn to guard it. A very evocative poem, Paul!
Thanks Bev. I think it remains there hidden under the masks, which themselves offer a way home.
“there is never a place to hide / really / so the masks i welcome….” Love this! It’s so concise and so packed. Nothing better.
Thanks Charley. Appreciate the comment.
Underneath (our masks) we are who we are Paul. But we need our masks!
Anna :o]
I’m not so sure we do 😉
It really is a journey, isn’t it? Searching for our own faceless mask. This is wonderful, Paul.
It is…paradoxically we are already there 😉
where i always was
always will be
The natural being will always render the truth despite efforts to mask it. Very true Paul!
Hank
Astute observational powers as always Hank.
I’m reminded of a cubist exercise offered to folks at an art gallery we visited. They’d taken pieces of a mirror and glued them on a board…you sat in front of the board and saw different pieces of your face reflected back at you, and you were supposed to draw what you saw. Your reflection was in pieces, all different shapes….the masked you!
I have always adored the Eliot quote; as you know, i like to open with a quote habitually; part of my poetic masque perhaps. I like the notion that our true self might look Cubist, many separate components that relax into our many personas. Sadly, some folks cannot see who they really are–and live a complete lie.
At the end of this puzzle, a faceless face. I like this.