Take off that mask. I know its you.
Those wrinkles, sunken chin,
And goggled eyes cant quite disguise
Your wry familiar grin.
This is our mutual Halloween.
As though we mean to scare,
We face each other through a screen
Of fake teeth, whitened hair.
X.J. Kennedy is
This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 25 September 2006, on page 71
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