Published in 1896 in his collection Lyrics of a Lowly Life, “We Wear the Mask” is an emotional poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar, an African American poet, novelist, and playwright. We Wear the Mask talks about hiding one’s true feelings and experiences in the face of societal expectation and oppression. One of the first influential poets in American literature to explore the complexities of African American identity and experience during the post-Civil era, Dunbar’s use of simple and powerful language increases the poem’s emotional depth.
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.
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.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
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!