These plastic halos They seem so out of place Behind the mask Lurks a scarred and fragile face We lie so spiritually Familiar smiles Displayed Misleading masquerade We hide our pain We try to laugh Fools to think our tears Would provoke holy wrath In stone-gray silence We do not face our fears We bite our lips And we press on with feeble cheer With hearts of sadness We say our thankful prayers Refusing comfort unawares We hide our pain We try to laugh Fools to think our tears Would provoke holy wrath We learn the protocol We bare our souls to none We praise our peers For the optimism shown "Brave men don't cry", we say As we watch the world turn to dust The tears of God fall for us