MASKED MAN

i am the masked man
a latterday batman or zorro
i live in terror of being exposed
afraid as i am of emerging from beneath my many layers of disguise
no sooner would i be unmasked in public
than would an ageing celebrity appear on tv without her make-up
my mask collection is my pride and joy
i am so attached to it
that it is impossible to conceive of a meaningful existence without it
foremost among my wardrobe are:
my mask of youth
my mask of good looks
my mask of vitality
my mask of intelligence
my mask of wit
my mask of talent
my mask of creativity
my mask of musician
my mask of writer
my mask of journalist
my mask of blogger
my mask of truth-seeker
my mask of philosopher
my mask of peripatetic existence
my mask of polyglot
my mask of experience
my mask of fatherhood
my mask of superiority
my mask of righteousness
my mask of kindness
my mask of striver
my mask of green activist
my collection assures that i have nothing to win
and everything to lose
all my masks are stored in a room marked samsara
i often lie awake at night
dreading the day that an arsonist takes a match
and engulfs my masks in flames