The Masked Man



The masked man sits at my table every morning,
A fountain of promises and platitudes
Gushing from his eyes.
He reaches to hold my hand,
And pulls back empty as he sees
That I know the truth behind his lies.

Only when the mask lays in tatters,
Shredded by the hands of change,
Only clawing at the nightmares
Will help you rearrange
The shapes your past has left in the dark.
Light the mirror up with your spark,
Release the arrow and hit the indelible mark
You've left on me
From all this ephemeral debris,
Flotsam and jetsam
In your endless drunken sea.

About this poem

This poem is about facing an addict for the thousandth time, listening to apologies one knows are lies. We know they're lies because they're the same apologies from yesterday.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Written on September 15, 2017

Submitted by KrissLuckett on September 20, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
0

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXAXXA XBXBCCCDDDD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 537
Words 103
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 6, 11

Kriss Luckett

Songwriter, amateur poet, professional performing musician. I'm also an artist, and "mom" to an amazing 12 year old son. I live in Indianapolis, IN with my husband and son (who are my musical partners), and a ridiculous number of pets. I'm a self-employed massage therapist, and have owned my own business since 2015. In my rare spare time, I like to kayak, camp, and bake, and I collect vinyl records. I have been a performing musician for 32 years, with roots in punk and alt-rock and modern folk. My non-musical writing has been mostly for my own personal enjoyment, but I am broadening my scope of exposure, and hope to publish at some point. I have recorded 6 albums in my music career, with aspirations of recording a solo record at some point in the near future. My inspiration comes from my own experiences, the experiences of friends and characters, musings on the state of the world and life in general, and stories I make up. I am not a "look out my window and ponder the flowers" sort of writer, although there's nothing wrong with that. I began writing for enjoyment in high school, when I had a teacher who recognized my penchant for writing "dark stories", and encouraged me to keep at it. I grew up in small town Indiana, where "girls just don't write such things", so I have kept most of my edgier writing to myself. This is the first place I've published anything that wasn't songwriting. Hope you enjoy my work. more…

All Kriss Luckett poems | Kriss Luckett Books

1 fan

Discuss the poem The Masked Man with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Masked Man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/110055/the-masked-man>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    7
    days
    2
    hours
    22
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "The Road Not Taken"?
    A Robert Frost
    B Walt Whitman
    C Langston Hughes
    D Emily Dickinson