Masked Woman
Oil, mixed media
By Valerie Clark
Job 23:10
But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
I chose this poem to go along with my piece:
“We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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?
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, O the clay is vile
beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise.
We wear the mask.
When it passes, we will come out as gold.