A Writer Writes — “Reading Masks,” a poem by Tony Zurlo (Nigeria)
My brother-in-law suffered a bad stroke about a decade ago and was stricken with aphasia. In the last couple of years before his death in January 2019, he was in therapy and he made this mask. I thought it was a profound struggle of a “soul” shouting out to a world that had “forgotten him.” Jim’s soul must have been desperately wanting to speak to former friends or even family, and the mask reveals to me a plea for a touch of love, or a simple smile from that outer world that he will never see again. I hope the poem speaks for itself. Reading Masks by Tony Zurlo (Nigeria 1964-66 I. We think we read faces and focus on a people’s eyes, “the windows to the soul.” But each mask speaks a different language, and each mask looks at us with a different set of eyes. Sometimes faces and . . .
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Just for clarification, the poem "Reading Masks" and mask first appeared online at: https://andreazurlo.wixsite.com/andreazurlo/post/un-bellissimo-sogno-a-beautiful-dream