Masquerade

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?
Are you bored with the part of your life that everyone sees?
Do you long for the kind of intrigue incurred by regret,
Or perhaps for delicious mystique secured by secrets?
Are you an outspoken leader shunned by society?
A visionary bogged down by dull mediocrity?
An aspiring Socrates spurned by hypocrisy?
An unbridled dreamer limited by reality?
Or a free thinker punished for your eccentricity?
Do these troublesome labels within your community
Instill bothersome, senseless, and cruel notoriety?
Well, ladies and gents,
We proudly present,
A lovely elegant solution for your discontent,
Whether you’re trapped in the box, or too far outside the lines,
Just follow our instructions, then you can live on both sides.
Put on your mask, don’t take it off, treat it like it’s your face.
Because life is all just a game, an occult masquerade.
Everyone’s born in pairs. Everyone comes in groups of two.
Public selves are scarlet ball gowns; our souls are just the tulle.
And our corset is what does all the work; our self-restraint,
Bind it tight so it won’t loosen and give it all away.
Be a splendid young child by being nothing at all,
Because being yourself will always be sure to appall.
A good boy does not need sense in his handsome little head.
Girls, don’t blabber; it’s she who holds her tongue who gets ahead.
Now I will bid you farewell and I do hope you attend
Where the only price of admission is to just pretend.
I urge you to come to this masquerade that’s most macabre.
Oh, and just one last thing: don’t forget to bring your façade.