Silent Grasshopper
Mask #381 of 613 — a wearable identity from X. Masquerade (2025), the sixth chapter of LUCI by Sam Spratt.
- Category
- Understory
- Material
- Wood
- Adornments
- Protrusions
- Region
- Frogland
- Attendee
- Masked Guest
Observation
The Cost of Unmasking The weary, anguished soul Unmasked but not unharmed Instead of acceptance, I am beaten down, left in the muck, exhausted, defeated, and alone. Will society accept me? Generations of humanity seem to say no But what if it has become too much to bear? To not be the real me all the time? Can I escape the muck and mire and choose my new path maskless? Is it worth it to share my true self? Can you try to accept me for me? Or will you make me take up my mask and adorn it again, unknown
Replies by this mask
- Can you bear it - the unmasking? The worst lies behind you now, discarded Or so you think. Even with the pain and insecurity, it feels better. Or does it? Can you live seen by the world? Or do you mask again, fill in the cracks, and hide your true self?
- Does unmasking free you? Can you find what you are looking for maskless? Can you genuinely reveal what is underneath? Or do you quickly put the mask back on to conceal? Is this what others want? To what cost? Are you trapped either way? Where is freedom?
- Bro, you own a Yeti? Roboto? Tell her it's gonna matter next cycle. Maybe she won't leave quite yet...
Revision
I decide. I throw off the made-up sense of normal. I defy the ages of repetitive conformity. I leave my mask behind; I am free.