Coverup

This amazing mask created and painted
 by Ariel Clearwater, Vancouver, B.C.

I’ll keep this short tonight.

Active addiction is a coverup

A coverup that hides pain and sickness

A coverup that buries traumas and heartbreak

That’s just for the addicted, the afflicted, the ones that still suffer

Active addiction is a coverup

For professionals that can’t see past its mask, that won’t see that there is a mask

Active addiction is an abundance of coverup

for bravery and courage
for broken hearts, distorted thoughts

that beg to stay hidden

and beg to be helped.

“The irony of life is that those who wear masks 

often tell us more truths than those with open faces.”

~ Marie Lu,  The Rose Society