O Make Me A Mask

O make me a mask and a wall to shut from your

Of the sharp, enamelled eyes and the spectacled

Rape and rebellion in the nurseries of my face,

Gag of dumbstruck tree to block from bare

The bayonet tongue in this undefended prayerpiece,

The present mouth, and the sweetly blown trumpet of lies,

Shaped in old armour and oak the countenance of a

To shield the glistening brain and blunt the examiners,

And a tear-stained widower grief drooped from the

To veil belladonna and let the dry eyes

Others betray the lamenting lies of their

By the curve of the nude mouth or the laugh up the sleeve.