Caked-On Faces

All of us have a face

that we wear

when we are feeling sad

and crave attention

a face

that we don

when we feel unloved

a public face

a private face

a face that belies

another face we may not even know anymore

Which face is real?

And which is a fabrication?

Or do our collective faces come to shape us?

So that the face we thought we were controlling

becomes the mask that

one day

we forgot to take off

We’re all chipping away at caked-on faces

their meanings long forgotten

until

one day

we can’t take it anymore

So we remove them all

and the process begins anew