What does the “masquerade” represent in the poem (line 9)?

poem

fresh out of middle
school, we
all understand the rules: wear
whatever’s in, scowl on cue to convince the
world we’re fearless — anything to mask
[5]the million insecurities that
pockmark1 our skin like acne. gone the grins
when we strut down the hall. we talk tough and
hope to god it’s enough to get us by. it’s all lies.
we despise the masquerade.2 it
[10]may disguise our fears, but also hides
our kind and tender hearts, our
agile minds, the wit that sits behind our cheeks —
who’d guess that some of us are geeks and
nerds and poets, too? clothed in shades
[15]of chocolate skin, our color works to camouflage our
character and promise — at least, in certain eyes.
one look, and we are neatly judged this
gang, these thugs, these dark delinquents3 in debt
to society. meanwhile, you fail to see that we
[20]are college-bound (more than a few), prepared to pay
attention to psychology, the sciences, the arts, to
thoughtfully unfurl the scrolls of human
history. instead, you see a thief who uses guile.4
is such unfairness what the world is filled with?
[25]the evidence is seen in spirits ripped and torn.
still, the world needs the dreams we offer, and
should we leave those dreams bleeding
on the road, we’d shrink our own hearts
down to nothing, and that we
[30]would regret. better to let our anger go, and smile.
the ignorant ignore as best you can, and
in the end, mask aside, freshen your mouth
with ferocious lines of potent poetry, with
metaphors that mightily reveal the myriad5
[35]of emotions you feel – yet, in all their subtleties

Frequently the subject of blues songs has to do with some challenge or problem faced by the writer. everyone faces personal challenges. sometimes music us deal with these problems. do you know of times when music has you or people that you know cope with difficult situations? think about your life experiences and challenges or the experiences of someone you know. then write your own twelve-bar blues song that describes one such experience that you or another person has had. your blues song should have three verses. you may write a fourth verse for extra credit. each verse you write should have three phases and should be written in call-and-response form. the first two phases of each verse should describe the experience, challenge, or problem and should act as your “call” phrases. the third phrase should describe the solution to your challenge or problem, or the next step in your story, and should act as your “response” phrase. review “sneaker blues” to see an example of a call-and-response song with three verses. “sneaker blues” my sneakers got a hole and my feet are killing me; my sneakers got a hole and my feet are killing me; i’m gonna get my sneakers fixed just you wait and see. the man said twenty dollars; you have got to be kidding me; the man said twenty dollars; you have got to be kidding me; twenty dollars is what he said, i might have to let them be. the hole in my sneakers is getting bigger every day; the hole in my sneakers is getting bigger every day; twenty dollars is what he said, that’s what i’ll have to pay. write your song title and verses as the answers to the questions. after you have written your song, try putting it to music using one of the online music samples. original twelve-bar blues song (2 points) score 1. title(6 points) score 2. verse 1line 1: line 2: line 3: (6 points) score 3. verse 2 line 1: line 2: line 3: (6 points) score 4. verse 3 line 1: line 2: line 3: