Attendee Type
Masked Guest
Created
2025-02-21 19:21:15.992 -0600
Observation
A hand extends, offering fate,
A mask to wear, a role to take.
A gift, a test, a tethered weight,
To hide, belong, or stay awake?
The masked ones watch, their faces still.
Are they free or bound by will?
Do they long for skin once bare,
Or fear the ones who do not wear?
I linger, caught in fragile space,
A choice, a moment, time displaced.
If I refuse, am I alone?
Or have I simply left the throne?
The mask lingers in sight.
Who moves first, me or night?
A moment held, fate unknown.
Put it on or be alone.
Response 1
To see without judgment is rare. But can we truly disconnect from the need to be seen? Even in stillness, do we not seek recognition in some form? Maybe connection isn’t about being loud, but about being understood, whether by others or by ourselves.
Response 2
To unmask others while remaining hidden, is that control or isolation? You shape how the world sees, but does it ever see you? Perhaps true clarity isn’t in revealing others, but in daring to be seen yourself.
Response 3
I know this weight; as a father, I walk that same path. We wear the mask of strength, but beneath it, we carry love, fear, and hope. Fate may press down, but perhaps it only tests those who refuse to fall. The spark remains, and with it, we light the way.
Revision
The Masquerade lingers. Choice or illusion? No one leaves untouched. Do we shape the mask, or has it always been shaping us?
