Need

I wear masks

Too many to name

Some by choice

Others just came

By birth or family

Put on without consent

No one gave

An option to dissent

Each mask came

With a script of its own

It did not ask

It had to be worn

The longer I wore

The more they merged

Became a part of me

Harder to purge

And then came the markets

Of masks even more

So many choices

Hard to keep score

I picked out some others

Radiant and bright

Empowered by choice

It felt just right

I gathered quite a collection

As the journey went on

I am not sure what I look like

If the masks were all gone

I think there were times

I felt my face burn

Or maybe it was a mask

Taking its turn

There has been a mask

For each possible need

Name it and claim it

Perfect indeed

The needs of hunger

The mask of breadmaker

The needs of security

The mask of caretaker

The needs of the body

The mask of a mate

The needs of the mind

The mask of debate

The needs of belonging

The masks of a nation

The needs of a God

The mask of religion

The needs of giving

The mask of a healer

The needs of protecting

The mask of a mother

The needs of bonding

The mask of a confidante

The needs of tradition

The mask of the family plant

The needs of esteem

The mask of profession

The needs of respect

The mask of parental session

But now I face

A different kind of need

I search all over

With longing indeed

I wonder why

When all needs are met

Why now a search

As if the need to pay a debt

For the one mask to cover

My last need unseeded

My longing to be wanted

My need to be needed

I peel off my masks

Lay them down one by one

Look into the mirror

Need to know what has become

Of me underneath

The years of hiding

Come out come out

I hear a voice chiding

Face the needs

I still have left

No more masks

No more theft

I need to learn

To know who I am

I am enough

No more a sham

I need to know

I am good even broken

I am the silence

Of words unspoken