National Black Poetry Day: "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

In this poem, Paul Laurence Dunbar, a son of former slaves, suggests that some people wear masks in order to hide the pain that others do not want to hear about (which robs them of their true identities).
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. hide
    prevent from being seen or discovered
    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.
  2. shade
    protect from light, heat, or view
    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.
  3. debt
    an obligation to pay or do something
    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.
  4. guile
    shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
    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.
  5. myriad
    too numerous to be counted
    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.
  6. subtlety
    the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze
    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.
  7. sigh
    an utterance made by exhaling audibly
    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.
  8. torture
    subject to intense feelings of suffering
    We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
    To thee from tortured souls arise.
  9. soul
    the immaterial part of a person
    We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
    To thee from tortured souls arise.
  10. arise
    move upward
    We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
    To thee from tortured souls arise.
  11. vile
    exceptionally bad or unpleasant
    We sing, but oh the clay is vile
    Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
    But let the world dream otherwise,
    We wear the mask!
  12. dream
    have a daydream; indulge in a fantasy
    We sing, but oh the clay is vile
    Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
    But let the world dream otherwise,
    We wear the mask!
Created on Mon Oct 16 10:43:54 EDT 2023 (updated Mon Oct 16 10:52:12 EDT 2023)

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