I wake up
Grab my happy child kit from under my bed
Out come the invisible face paints
To draw on the special mask to cover the lines
Of worry and fright
A nice big smile to stick on my face
Magic concealer to cover rubbed eyes
On the back of the box it says "no guarantee"
It lasts all day until...
A memory session ruins it all
The make-up smudges and leaves red patches and streaks
The smile fades
The happy shades break
On it goes again and gets me through the rest of the
And then, just before bedtime
I scrub it off and show the real me
The one that is hidden by paint and a plastic mask
Ugly, scared and broken
