Poem #4: Beyond The Mask

Beyond The Mask

Traditional reds are made by spitting crimson
from the nuts of the betel palm tree.
Whites are made from oil and lime,
blacks from oil and charcoal.
More than carved pieces of wood,
masks represent regions, people
and stories of tribal traditions.
Like how an elongated nose
represents fertility and continuance.
Or how other masks scare children
away from initiation ceremonies.
Displayed at festivals, they conjure up spirits.


This poem is my museum art piece. For this assignment our class met at the University Museum and picked artwork to write about. I decided to write about a group of African masks.

It's hard to describe them now, since the exhibit is gone and I don't have any thing to show from it except this poem. And really, this poem does those masks no justice, seeing that I don't describe one particular mask.

Instead, I described the masks in a broad way while also describing what masks of that particular region meant. Masks do have certain history behind them and I thought I'd try to get some of that out there through my poem.