Mask

poem & photography by Nathaniel WhitcombmaskI wore youfor so many yearsI stopped seeingyouin the mirrorwhen I checkedmy hairand howmy jeans fitandwhether my teethbelied my lost innocencemaskyou were my faceand I loved you for so many yearsthe way we cannot but lovethe images reflected backat us when we go lookingin mirrorsstarsdarkened windows and other people’s eyesmaskI’d never feltpowerful beforeI put you onstepped on stageand somehowhit every marknever missed a lineand my wordsalways on timelit hearts on firemaskneither of us could have guessedthe painof getting exactly what you wantor how metamorphosis happens without anyone knowingwhat’s beneath the maskuntilone nightwe crawl outof ourselvesand look downto seewho we just were lying there in the gravelbeneath a highway overpass