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I sometimes speculate
how might you look
if one day we met
minus the mask that you don
With the mask off
will the creases on your forehead look deeper
will the light in your eyes look brighter
will your smile be open and truer…
When your pores breathe in the fresh air
will your skin shine,
and your feelings show through freely, unrestrained…
Will I be able to, with clarity
see, what I so long to see…
Love in the corners of eyes that crinkle
love in the up-turn of your lips
love in a crease-less forehead
love in the uninhibited words of your heart…
Will there come a day
when you will let me see you as you are
minus the mask you don
all of the twenty-four hours in a day.
– Shail Mohan (March 2011)
Shail's Nest 
Awesome !
@Ruchira,
That was quick 🙂 Thanks!
Temptations you cause,
be face to face,
you will find
I dont wear any mask,
@Devinder Jain,
Welcome to Shail’s Nest. Lol, I don’t even know who you are, but I will take your word for it that you don’t wear a mask 🙂
Thought provoking.
The blog world is full of names to which I cannot put a face.
Many times, I wonder, how these people are in real life.
I have interacted with so many bloggers and netizens without ever knowing how they look in real life or how their voice sounds.
On occasion, I went out to meet them when I got a chance.
I was disappointed with some, greatly satisfied with some others.
I suppose I too must have disappointed some when they actually met me face to face.
I personally don’t prefer too much anonymity on the net and am more transparent than most netizens. My profile is public and I have given basic information about myself in my profile both at Blogspot and WordPress and my face is there for all to see.
I also choose to develop “e-friendship” with persons only if I know these essential details about them viz: gender, profession, age (or at least age group) and location (at least country and nationality). I seek to know nothing more than this and judge them from their writings.
Many netizens write brilliantly but if the above details are unknown to me, I don’t go beyond reading their posts. I don’t comment.
Nice post from you.
Regards
GV
@G Vishwanath,
I am not for anonymity either. 🙂 I don’t like faceless people. But I wasn’t speaking of the net, but in general talking of those who wear masks 🙂
@Shail,
Your post reminds of an old Hindi film song which was popular during the late sixties / early seventies. I was a teenager just stepping into his twenties then while studying at BITS Pilani.
The song I am referring to opened with lines which, if I recollect correctly were:
क्या मिली ऐसे लोगों से
जिनकी फ़ितरत छुपी रहे
नकली चेहरा सामने आए
असली सूरत छुपी रहे
I remember the film because it was the first (?) time J Jayalalithaa acted in a Hindi film opposite Garam Dharam.
I think the film was “Izzat” and I also remember she did a hot song number which was a big hit those days (जागी बदन में ज्वाला, सैंया तूने क्या कर डाला)
Regards
GV
@G Vishwanath,
I know the song. But I never knew the movie had J ayalalitha in it! 🙂
Not nice, this feeling that somebody we interact with wears a mask!
@Indian Homemaker,
True 🙂
We all don masks on many days, don’t we? This was very well expressed Shail.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you. Wishing you a very lucky day! G
http://www.takeahappybreak.com
@Geraldine,
Thank you, wish you a lucky day too, though belatedly.
Yes, we all have donned a mask at one time or other 🙂
I feel, you are talking about an internet friend…every word applies to this type of friend! Very well written!
We should be cautious while coming closer to net friends, I am told by my sons, even at my age! Do you think so? If it is, it is scary!
@Sandhya,
The protagonist seems to know already the person she speaks of from the way she speaks, don’t you think?? So it cannot be a mere internet friend. 🙂
Your sons too caution you?!! *rolls eyes* I sometimes face similar situations and it is all I can do to stop from giving them (only one, the other one is cool) one on their back side. Grrrr… credit me with some intelligence, say I. 🙂
When I read this I didn’t think of internet ‘friends’, it was only when reading the comments that I realised it could be interpreted like this. Many people wear ‘masks’. It’s just the way they are. I think joy of friendship or love is getting behind the mask to the real person, idon’t you?
@earlybird,
You thought right. 🙂 I meant this in general about those people who are reluctant to part with their masks. I agree with you, the joy of friendship/love is getting behind that mask ….and when you cannot, you ponder. 🙂
Its certainly a creepy feeling to know that ppl wear masks when they interact with us….and to ponder whats under those masks….sometimes, I am scared to find out the real truth. I can only accept what I see straight or is it becos its easy ????
@UmaS,
I am not afraid to know what lies beneath the mask. 🙂 In fact not knowing the truth makes me restless. I prefer to know the truth always and suffer its consequences rather than those of not knowing 🙂
I speculate too, as I sit here reading you. Yes, we all wear masks at times, its usually some kind of “majboori”. When I think of friends or love, it came to be so, because between us there is no Mask.
@Rashmi,
Yes, I suppose we all have at one time or another worn a mask. What about those who always wear a mask that they themselves have forgotten they wear one?? I speculate about that too 🙂
There are so many days
that I have walked in a daze
as if lost in a maze
trying to find the real face.
Billy Joel’s ‘Stranger’ is so very apt. Here goes
Well we all have a face
That we hide away forever
And we take them out and show ourselves
When everyone has gone
Some are satin, some are steel
Some are silk and some are leather
They’re the faces of the stranger
But we love to try them on
Well we all fall in love
But we disregard the danger
Though we share so many secrets
There are some we never tell
Why were you so surprised
That you never saw the stranger?
Did you ever let your lover
See the stranger in yourself?
Don’t be afraid to try again
Everyone goes south
Every now and then
You’ve done it, why can’t someone else?
You should know by now,
You’ve been there yourself
You may never understand
How the stranger is inspired
But he isn’t always evil
And he is not always wrong
Though you drown in good intentions,
You will never quench the fire
You’ll give in to your desire
When the stranger comes along
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI2BnzF1860
@Govind,
So have you found the real face??
Thanks for the link to the song 🙂
Ah! Masks! Very difficult to take them off, if you’re used to wearing them! Lovely poetry, as always!
@Usha,
I guess it is so for those who wear them 🙂 Thank you 🙂
Outstanding!!!
@niks,
Welcome to Shail’s Nest and thank you. I liked Mana Shanty too 🙂