To be able to live among you elite <br />I strive to hide my real self behind the mask <br />And frills of modernity’s urban etiquette <br />Which this village-bourn often finds a hard task. <br />The mantle of urban culture I’m forced to wear <br />Is a burden for this unpretentious man to bear. <br />One who grew up carefree amongst simple folk <br />Feels impeded by the city’s behaviour and talk. <br />The frugal living my parents gave me as a rural lad <br />And the social layer in which I am reckoned in the city <br />Are far apart. Here money and power determine identity <br />And cultural values are subservient to wealth. How sad! <br />Behind the mantle and mask of the urban bureaucrat <br />This carelessly reared villager does suffocate.<br /><br />P K Joy<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-man-behind-the-mask-3/
