Why Mister Man

You see, a child once asked me....

Why mister man do you smile?

So I said -

I wear the mask of comedy,
To hide the name my soul bears,
Acedia.
For mine is the sin of stagnation,
Yet all I want is to move forward.

And I went on my way, bearing the weight of my sins hidden in my heart, with a smile and a laugh and a wave to the precocious little child.

So I kept on living, moving from place to place, drifting without a care in the world. Then one day I happened upon a boy, more than a child but not quite yet a man.

Why mister man, he asked, do you cry?

So I said -

I wear the mask of tragedy,
To hide the name my soul bears,
Acedia.
For mine is the sin of stagnation,
Yet all I want is to move forward.

And I went on my way, bearing the weight of my sins hidden in my heart, with a tear and a frown and a wave to the wise young lad.

 So I kept on living as I was before, spinning my wheels as I drifted from town to town, waiting for someone to light a fire under my heart and thaw what had long ago frozen. Then one day I happened upon a man, still young in his days but with an old heart.

Why mister man, he asked, do you cry whilst smiling? Why do you laugh with tears in your eyes?

So I said -

I wear the masks of comedy and tragedy,
To hide the name my soul bears,
Acedia.
For mine is the sin of stagnation,
Yet all I want is to move forward. 

And I went on my way, bearing the weight of my sins hidden in my heart, waving to the young man with tears streaming down my face and a smile on my lips.