We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,
This debt we pay to human guile . . .
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
Source: We Wear the Mask.
-- Paul Laurence Dunbar, (Jun 27 1872-1906), US poet, novelist, short-story writer; He was the first African American poet to gain a national audience; wrote four volumes of poetry including Oak and Ivy.