Behind the Mask

Time changes everything and life goes on

Things are not always what they seem

Sometimes the truth is dangerous to know

And is hidden behind a cold unfeeling mask.

~*~*~*

Once a pair of evergreen eyes mesmerized me

Filled my mind with wonder and my heart with joy

I pledged myself to her, in secret solitude,

But one who flirts with danger and wanders in darkness

Is not free to follow the heart's desire.

And so I bid her goodbye upon a summer's day

Walked away, my mask in place, stiff and unyielding

But inside I cried for what could never be.

~*~*~*

Once a pair of twinkling blue eyes bargained with me

In a cold stone cell, offering freedom

In exchange for a service only I could provide

His eyes and ears in a dark place

Information to defeat the undefeatable

I put on the mask of the chameleon spy.

~*~*~*

Once a pair of slit eyes summoned me

And I put on the mask grim

To infiltrate the lair of the Beast

While the dark brand burned and scorched me

Called by a master dark and twisted

To witness unspeakable atrocities

Torture and death, the innocent's dying pleas

Shall haunt me for all eternity.

~*`~*~*

I watch, though I cannot bear to see,

Behind the silver mask my heart shatters

For I cannot show them mercy.

What price victory?

I wonder bitterly, alone

Among the ashes of the dead.

Whose voices are stilled, yet speak still to me.

~*~*~*

Once a pair of familiar emerald eyes looked at me

Curious and wary, unable to penetrate

The last mask of sneering disdain, the bitter curl

Of a lip that hid the echo of an old pain

A fiery-haired specter lingering in the eyes of a child.

But for a twist of fate, he could have been mine

Had not my footsteps trod the paths of night.

Duty and regret sting the back of my throat,

Bitter as bile, to protect and defend the could-have-been child.

~*~*~*

Now victory's price has been paid,

All old debts settled,

The Beast lies in ashes in a bloody grave

My task fulfilled, my soul redeemed

At last I am free.

~*~*~*

I stare into the mirror,

All my masks broken at my feet

Obsidian eyes stare back at me

Heavy with sacrifice and loss,

Pain and weariness, laced with

Triumph and a wary joy.

~*~*~*

The face of a stranger gazes at me.

Is this what I am? Is this what I have become?

I close my eyes, as tears unnoticed slide down my cheeks.

I am afraid, to go forth exposed, my face naked

For everyone to see

The man behind the mask.

~*~*~*

A tap upon my door rouses me.

I brush away the self-pitying tears

Straighten my robes, and open the door.

My eyes meet three pairs of gazes,

Bright with intelligence, loyalty, and respect.

Brown eyes smile shyly,

Blue eyes bright with awe,

Emerald orbs filled with understanding

"Professor, it's time for the ceremony."

~*~*~*

I stride up the corridor, robes billowing,

My companions survivors like me,

To honor the fallen, the brave, the free.

~*~*~*

Time changes everything, and life goes on

I have worn many masks—lovestruck boy, professor, Death Eater, spy

Which one was real?

All and none, each a facet

Of the wizard within.

I have removed the masks now

To look upon the world anew.

Keeper of secrets, dark and deep

Master of potions and scowls

My true heart revealed at last.

~*~*~*

As I gaze out across a sea of faces,

Old and new, my eyes lock

With a pair of innocent indigo ones,

Sparkling with childish wisdom,

She recalls to me a time before the masks

Slowly a corner of my lip quirks upwards,

And I do something I had denied myself years before.

I smile.