Answer:
My Mask
Holy God, you see me and you hear me.
Through my mask, you see if I smile or if I scowl.
Through my mask, you hear me if I whisper a brief prayer or mutter a muffled curse.
My friends don’t see or hear or know; nor do my family; nor my colleagues.
But you do.
This mask takes away power – the power of clear communication but also the possibility to infect. But it also grants a freedom to be with.
My smiles, my thoughts, my mumbles, though – these I know, but they are a greater mystery to others now.
But not to you, Lord. You see past my mask, you hear through it, you know.
But your mask, Lord, what about your mask? Who can see through your mask? Hear through it?
I cannot.
I cannot see if you smile or if you scowl.
I cannot hear if you whisper an answer to my prayer or brush off my curse.
I cannot sense if you are pleased with me or if you are waiting for me to do much better.
Can we all take off our masks, Lord? Put them away?
