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.
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Written on September 15, 2017
Submitted by KrissLuckett on September 20, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 31 sec read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | XXAXXA XBXBCCCDDDD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 537 |
Words | 103 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 11 |
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"The Masked Man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/110055/the-masked-man>.
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