At a Glance
Language
English — USSubject
- English & Language Arts
- History
- Racism
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile 1 ;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad 2 subtleties 3 .
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
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile 4
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world think other-wise,
We wear the mask!
This poem is also available as a PDF.
Poet Maya Angelou adapted Dunbar's "We Wear the Mask" in a spoken-word poem.
How to Cite This Reading
Facing History and Ourselves, “We Wear The Mask,” last updated May 2, 2022.
This reading contains text not authored by Facing History and Ourselves. See footnotes for source information.