The scars of a mask

By Dr David Cartland

The power of a smile,

The anguish of a frown,

To tell someone you’re feeling great,

To signal when you’re down.

We smile when we are joyful,

We frown when things get tough,

Our faces show the world our thoughts,

Our grimace when we feel rough.

The barrier to this — the facial mask,

The debate of whether it works,

To stop the spread of covid? No.

But yes to displays of joy and fear and mirth.

To see our children suffering,

In an emotionless world of fears,

To see our children reaching out,

A masked child’s scars bring tears.

We rely on the power of our faces,

To tell the world we’re fine,

We rely on the power of expression,

To show all the feelings of mine.

It’s time to lose the facial masks,

For the good of humankind,

So we connect again as humans do,

And display our souls and mind.

Let us see in years to come,

When we hope we’ve won this race,

The needs and dreams of all the world,

Freely etched upon our face.