Once upon a time we wore masks,
we tried to fit in
we edited out and censored pieces of ourselves
so that we could appear more acceptable, more likeable.
Then one day, there came a day, when something bad happened,
something so bad, that we decided it was time to shed the masks,
to tell the stories, we’d always been longing to tell,
but that had been hidden in the backs of our minds,
as we focused on being liked, and being sociably acceptable.
When that day came it became apparent that we had nothing to lose,
it was going to be revealed,
all those secret thoughts in the backs of our minds, about what we really thought about medicine, and the government,
they were going to be revealed anyway whether we chose to or not, our private thoughts, would be wrenched out of our heads, and laid bare,
there would a come a day, when a new acquaintance invites you somewhere and you can’t go because of the thoughts in your mind, and the choices you make about your own body,
and you know that the invitations are going to keep coming from here, and there, and that there’s no getting around it, you are going to have to tell the truth,
and although it’s scary, perhaps it is actually a blessing and relief,
to breathe freely without the mask, and be completely and utterly yourself.
2Amanda Bradbury and Rosanne Plamondon