Masks by Marilyn J. Simons

I never thought I'd be a bandit. Now I am one, whenever I meet someone. They are all bandits too (except the strange looking ones, the barefaced). How do I know my friends? Different clues--smiling eyes, a familiar coat, a hat or a hairdo. We must look closer to see friend or foe, good or bad, known or unknown. "Mask up!" I say to myself, when approaching someone. "Mask up!" I joke to a friend, when we both forget. Someday there will be no more masks. We will smile and frown again. My glasses won't fog up--hallelujah!