“We Wear the Mask” describes the experience of a group of individuals who must perform contentment to conceal their pain from an apathetic and oppressive world. The speakers—“We”—wear the mask, which they describe as an object that constructs a false image of happiness by hiding the unhappy facial expressions behind it. The mask-wearers state that they are indebted to the human faculty of pretense—they smile despite their torn hearts, and use censored speech to hide their true intentions.
The masqueraders argue that they would rather the world not know about the truth—the pain, the tears, and the sighs—behind their masks. Tortured and in pain underneath their smiling façades, the speakers supplicate to Christ for mercy. They sing, but their journey is long, bitter, and painful. Nonetheless, the mask-wearers choose to remain distanced from the apathetic world, which will never comprehend their experience. They close the poem by restating that they wear the mask.
