Masks of Civility

Masks of civility were our usual garments
Even as we boiled silently with rage
The understanding was that this healing process
Would allow those others to turn the page
A lifetime of turning the other cheek had rendered us quiescent
Still, it was altogether unbearable, this internal displacement

In this liminal zone, we lived strange days of fiction
Weary travelers in a land of contradiction
To expose the molten core of reinforced steel would betray our purpose
The arc of providence, historians said, would surely bend towards our shores

Our national anthem lifted every voice against the strife
We played the rhythm of loss badly for our kind of life
We were close companions of the shape of dread
Who sang I can't breathe, the chant of the living dead

Tracing its contours like connoisseurs of anticipation
The country's dream was a hollow promise, empty marketing
The mantra goes the customer is always right, of course
Meanwhile, you get what you pay for, there's no buyer's remorse

The knives are out, they aren't even bothering to hide their intent
They're coming for us with everything they've got in their rearguard action
The fig leaves of due process were revealed as decorative nipple pasties
Functional, yet entirely ornamental, their bosom's virtue exposed freely

They parade around the poles of propriety as they strip rights and tease
Unvarnished power grabs their sordid maneuvers as befits back room sleaze
The cynicism of state capture revealed in their state of undress
Squalid encounters with the long coat contingent, expect nothing less

In practice when no preemptive measures can be afforded,
The bearer is denied the privilege of rage
This normalcy prohibition leaves us bereft and misdirected
Consigned perpetually to post-facto outrage

Traverse minefields of hurt feelings and cultural sensitivity
The slate of unease is always wiped clean for the loud minority
Thus our usual reliance on truth and reconciliation is misplaced
Masks of civility are the province of the internally displaced

Masquerade a playlist

A soundtrack to deflect attention from this note. (spotify version)

• Masquerade by Alyson Williams
• The Masquerade is Over by Lou Donaldson
• This Masquerade by George Benson
• The Masquerade is Over by Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley
• The Masquerade Is Over / Since I Fell For You by Jerry Butler
• The Mask by Fugees
• Behind the Mask by Michael Jackson
  Late era MJ was full of musings about identity and authenticity.
• The Charade by D'Angelo
  The black messiah speaks on this
• The Mask by Miles Davis
  We end this playlist in abstract sounds of musical dissonance. A phantom thread of displacement runs through Miles's entire oeuvre.

Timing is everything
Observers are worried

See also: Normalcy Prohibition

This internal displacement is part of a series: In a covidious time.

File under: normalcy, displacement, race, privilege, civility, rage, philosophy, alienation, USA, culture, observation, perception, memory, poetry, identity, legacy, power, Observers are worried, Buyer's Remorse, covidious, toli

Writing log: March 13, 2021