Masked Poem by Melissa Weir

Ashamed a child always smiles
Behind a mask of pain
Friends are happy, hopeful
He will beat painful memories.
Stagnant he stands
Ignored were his cries for help
Hard to see why.
Devotion for life
Shot to pieces
Never learned to accept
Tired of death.
Legend calls
A stop to the hurt
Reasoning Suspicion
Wins over God.
Weight lifted
Sadness drains away
Hate disappears
Because a child always smiles,
Behind a mask of pain

March 2000