We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be over-wise
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
Exposing your own suffering puts you in a vulnerable position. Why, the poem asks, should anyone be allowed to have that much power over you? 
 The world is simultaneously “over-wise” and “under-wise” because of the insistence on counting and tallying pain. What do we miss when we count “tears and sighs?” Do we not miss the humanity in these tears and sighs? 
 Wearing the mask gives power to the powerless. It means denying those whose intentions are to witness “torn and bleeding hearts” the satisfaction of seeing the suffering they mete out.
We Wear the Mask