I wrote this poem late last night and about half way through broke down
crying. So here is your warning this poem might have the same effect on
you.

Ode to Erik

There once lived a man a long time ago
That spent his whole life hiding
First behind a mask then underground
What a terribly sad life he led

Until one day
Heaven opened up
And he heard an angel
Singing high above

He followed the voice
Out of his safe darkness
And into the unfamiliar light
And when he saw her, he immediately fell
Not back into the darkness
But further into the light
Where love exists
And seems within reach
Even to a man in a mask
So he reached out to her
With his amazing voice
And taught her to live the music she sang
She in turn fell in love
With his voice
And wished to see his face
But he remained hidden behind his mask
Even though he hid his face he let her into his life
And she got to know him better than anyone else
Because he let down some of the protective walls he had built

And yet she never saw his face
Until one day when she broke all illusions
By tearing his mask away
Betraying his trust and leaving him vulnerable
For he never wanted her to see the horror of his face
And when his face was exposed
All the pain he experienced
Because of his horrid face
Came to the surface along with his anger

Anger that lashed out at his angel
Who cowered away from his anger and face
He raged on and on
Until the pain overcame the anger
And he crawled away
Broken down and terrified
That he had lost her forever
Just like all the ones before her
Including his own mother
The one woman who should have
Loved him unconditionally
But instead only showed him fear
And now he was sure
His angel would do the same
And take wing
Leaving him far behind
But his angel was stronger
Than he ever thought possible

And she stayed
Because she had seen his soul
Through his anger
She saw the sadness deep inside
That he hid behind a stoic exterior
And her heart went out to him

They could have lived happily ever after
But fate was not so kind
For there was another man
After the young singer's heart
A man of nobility with a handsome face
Who had loved her for as long as he could remember
And wanted to grow old with her

But when he heard of his rival
He only thought the worst
And was sure the young singer was in the gravest danger
From her masked teacher
And he began to fill her head
With poisonous thoughts
Against him and all he had taught her
And she began to doubt
What she felt for her masked angel

She now saw him in a different light
And no matter what he did
He could never be what the handsome man was
In her eyes and in her heart

He now knew he was losing her
And he acted out in desperation
But his plans to win her heart failed
When her handsome lover fell into his trap

But in the end he let the young lover go
After his heavenly student promised to be his wife
And sealed her promise with a kiss
That made him realize how much he loved her
And how happy he wanted her to be

Suddenly tears ran down his tortured cheeks
As he knelt at her feet
And silently begged her forgiveness

She wept along with him
And in doing so she let him know
He was no longer alone and that she was there
And as she did he broke down
And gave her a gold ring
As a wedding present to her and her young man
And told her she was to go with her lover to live a happy life
As her masked angel returned to the darkness and heartache
Forever