Masks

It’s very funny - really it is!
I am amazed with how clever man is:
Hooked noses I see and bared teeth,
As if I’m at the carnival in Venice.

They come on me - bright costumes trimmed with lace,
I’m pulled inside, I’m being pinched and shaken;
Well, now I see - my normal human face
By all of them just for a mask was taken!

Confetti, fire works... I feel I don’t belong,
They look reprovingly at me, discomfort grows.
They yell at me that all my steps are wrong,
They yell I’m stepping on my partners’ toes.

Should I escape from this unreal feast?
Or should I join this merry-go-round?
I hope that beneath the masks of beasts
Still human faces can sometimes be found.

These characters all come from tales or books,
These wigs and masks are brown, yellow, ruby...
My neighbor’s Harlequin who has unhappy looks,
The next one’s Hangman, while the other’s Booby.

One tries to show people: all is well!
Behind the mask the other hides despair...
Some other men can no longer tell
Their real faces from the masks they wear!

I join their dance, I laugh with them, although,
I’m not convinced that it’s the right endeavor:
Say, someone likes the mask of Hangman so
That he would like to keep this mask forever...

Say, Harlequin remains forever sad,
Enjoying his abnormal wistful image...
What if the foolish looks this Booby’s had
Remain forever on his real visage?






“Who’s honest here? - yet my soul asks, -
Is there a kind face in this whirl-around?”
Now all have learned to put on different masks
To save their faces if they hit the ground.

I know why these masks are often worn,
I know why they are preferred by people -
The mask of coldness and total unconcern
Protects a man against a slap or spittle!