How comfortable behind it I'd grown,
a mask fashioned from years spent alone
Stoic and steadfast, it never left my face
Else I'd be labeled; stupid, ugly, disgrace
As soft as it was, your first breath cracked my mask
With you, wearing it had become so much harder a task
Your laughter, your voice, even your steps; pitter patter
All sweetly force my mask to shatter
I taught you to walk and to speak,
all the while‥
You taught me to love and to care‥
you taught me to smile
©fromtheash
F