Masks

I wear many masks.
They were made to hide
my true form.
Layered like thick armor,
the masks keep everything out,
but they also keep
everything in.

The top mask, the one everyone sees,
is made of the strongest steel.
Harder than stone,
it takes everything thrown at it
and deflects it better than any shield.
But even the strongest steel
can weaken under a flame,
when the flame gets hot enough.

The second mask, always shining in my eyes,
is a boiling cauldron of molten anger.
Churning and thrashing,
it burns, and sometimes melts through that steel.
But even the hottest fires
can extinguish under the sea,
if the sea is cold enough.

The third mask, a twinkle behind those fires,
is an endless sea of sorrow.
A violent tempest,
it rages, and sometimes banishes those burning fires.
But beneath this vast sea, a monster lurks.

The fourth mask, my last defense,
is a monster made of glass.
Always in agony and misery,
It has lost all hope.
But the monster is hiding something,
something hidden from all but one.
When the monster shatters,
there is only one thing left.

A woman, full of fear.