We Wear the Mask
Paul Laurence Dunbar
1872 to 1906
Drag the words to the correct places to complete the poem. To reset the game, click on the "Reset Game" button located below the poem. This will clear all the words you've placed in the blanks, returning them to the word bank and resetting the poem to its original state with empty blanks.
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It ______ our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt ______ pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts ______ smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the ______ 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 ______ from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the ______ is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
______ let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!