They had always loved the mask, 
Broken as it was. 

Tears would seep out, sometimes, 
And when they listened,
Angry gasping breaths could be heard from within. 

With gentle care, they would wipe away the tears.
With soft, kind words, 
they pacified the heavy breath,
Until the smile on the mask 
was restored once more. 

But their efforts were in vain, 
For time and age, 
weathered the mask away,
and revealed the woman within. 

And with a voice thundering in anger,
And with eyes overflowing with tears,
But with a free breath, she cried,

"I was never broken!"