You don’t know his name
By day
he wears another’s face
and stands in another’s shoes,
mimicking their stride,
hiding in their flesh
like a terrified child.
By night
he strips off his masks
and basks in the quiet,
wishing you knew his name.
Photo by Idin Ebrahimi on Unsplash
At DVerse, the prompt today is to use stand or any word that includes stand in it to write a quadrille.
Seamus O'Shaughnessy, Jr. 
So haunting!
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Thank you!!
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Intriguing and gets my curiosity going as to who that person is behind the mask. Because the day person is a stunt double, does it mean they do all of the dangerous things?
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I think of it as almost a question without an answer – if you live too long wearing someone else’s face, do you forget your own?
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something like fake it until you make it… into somebody else? I think that’s probably what we do. We are shaped by circumstances and choices. Who is to say who we are — and if it isn’t meant to play out just this way. Your poem reminds me of one of my favorite Dave Matthews Band songs:
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Ants Marching? That’s my best Dave Matthews guess 🤣
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No. Dancing Nancies, silly!
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Very mysterious!!!
Good Monday
Much❤love
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much love, thank you 🌻🌻
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A mysterious, haunting poem!
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I’m glad you liked it!
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A conundrum hidden in the words of your poem. I’m left wondering…..
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What do you wonder? O.o
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“and basks in the quiet,
wishing you knew his name“
😦
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sounds like most people in the world these days. always hiding unable to be themselves. they should try writing poetry. anomously of course.
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Anonymity is always the way..i’ve forsaken the cardinal rule!! 😦
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A sad situation as everyone deserves to be recognized for their accomplishments….but then again, some prefer and choose to stay hidden.
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At least for those who prefer, staying behind a mask is a choice! A small solace, at least!
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Great imagery and intriguing words. Nicely done.
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Thank you!!!
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Very clever, Evan. Stunt doubles (and doubles in general) are an intriguing subject… who are they actually?
-David
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Sad reality, isn’t it!
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Indeed!
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How much is lost behind our masks as we learn new ways of communicating safely.
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More than we can ever know 😭😭
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He sounds like a character who needs some love in his life!
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Haha indeed!
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How clever to use the stunt double in your Quadrille … the name and face I seldom give a passing thought to. I enjoyed it!
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I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
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‘hiding in their flesh
like a terrified child.’ – these lines stood out to me. How many put on a ‘public face’ too scared to be who they really are? Ooh, this got me thinking…
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