Don’t be fooled by the face I wear
For I wear a thousand masks,
And none of them are me.
Don’t be fooled, oh, please.
Don’t be fooled.

I give you the impression that I’m secure,
That confidence is my name
And coolness is my game,
And that I need no one.
But don’t believe me.

Beneath dwells the real me in confusion,
In aloneness,
In fear.
That’s why I create a mask to hide behind,
To shield me from the glance that knows,
But such a glance is precisely my salvation.

That is, if it’s followed by acceptance,
If it’s followed by love.
It’s the only thing that can liberate me
From my own self-built prison walls.
I’m afraid that deep down I’m nothing
And that I’m just no good,
And that you will see this
And reject me.

And so begins the parade of masks.
I idly chatter to you.
I tell you everything that’s really nothing.
And nothing of what’s everything crying within me.

Please listen carefully and try to hear
What I’m not saying.
I’d really like to be genuine
And spontaneous,
And me.

Author Unknown