Poems by Themis

Put off that Mask

Put off that mask of formal hue,

And let your secret radiance shine,

Unhood the divinity in you,

The sweetness of the heart divine.

Why bury all that wealth of grace

Beneath the veneer of a pose,

Is not the face of love your face,

Is not your truth a smiling rose?

That icy look, sharp lines show clear

Unlovely feelings flowing unsmooth,

Dark shadows which make you appear

What you are not in your deep truth.

Ah! all the worlds would dance delight,

Should your soul's hidden sun arise;

The shades of pain would take their flight,

And singing raptures throng the skies.

Page 145