Masks

(Hammill) He's a man of the past and one of the present, A man who hides behind a mask behind a mask; A clown, a fool, believing it cool to be down Or that the game is all about who laughs the last. So he tells all his problems to his friends and relations, Exposes his neuroses to their view. They accept as fact every masochistic mumble of his act-- How could they know what was false and what was true? Sometimes when he wakes He feels he's walked into a dream But all it takes To remind him things are what they seem Is the belief that the man behind the mask can really dance Pirouetting smile He sees himself cavorting, Pierrot for a while Before aborting To find relief in the shelter of the dark, most telling mask. After all the pantomimes are ended He peels all the make-up off his face To reveal, beneath, the tears running all down his cheeks: Alone, he opens to the world...but it's much too late. He's been left, in the end, without a face. --- Masks - Van der Graaf Generator