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A Mask She Wears By Aboli Mane

There is a mask that she wears. She wears an unflappable look of quiet confidence. Its her shield against the wounds that the wolves of the world have seared onto her easily crushed heart. The shield cracks and mends again. It rejoins until she is whole. It reinforces itself until she is impenetrable in the fortress of her confidence.

What they don’t see is the aftermath of the battle. What they don’t see are the tears left on the pillow. What they don’t see is the coffee cup going cold as she buries herself in her work. What they don’t see is sparkle in her eye when she laughs along, surrounded by mirth but vacant inside. What they don’t see is that her journal is a heavy tome, full of dreams, failures and self-doubts. What they don’t see is her silence when she is by herself.

What they don’t see is that she removes her mask at night when the world is asleep and cries into her own arms. What they don’t see is her resilience which sprouts like a steel vine along her spine. What they don’t see is that he heart is capable of the deepest love.

What they don’t see is that she heals from her scars and rises again. What they don’t see is her first stumble during her flight. What they don’t see is her flight as she soars in the haven that she builds by herself.

Her self-worth and how she prizes herself is what they don’t see,
how can they when they only know mimicry?
Her value stems from herself, but that’s what they don’t see,
how can they when they hold no value within?

What they don’t see, is their own falsity.

There is a mask that she wears.
She calls it authenticity.

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*featured image from https://unsplash.com/@dizzyd718

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Aboli Mane is a poet, author, and blogger. She published her debut novella, Jyestha Devi, in July of 2024. Her debut poetry book, An Aster’s Solitude, was published in 2019. Her poetry and short stories are featured in multiple anthologies. Find her at author.abolimane on Instagram and A Writer In The Room on WordPress.