a mirror stood
before me
i hesitated to look
for fear of seeing
the ugliness
the weakness
the shame
cast to seas of sorrow
the skewed mouth
and squinting eyes
the furrowed brow of condemnation
the cowardice of complacency
the body
time forsook
the heart left to bleed
on sleeves of insolence
wincing reprieve
i strained to raise my head
to actually look
at the abomination
splayed supinely
before me
for all to see
but foreign was this frail affliction
that watched my fears
fade into light
through windows
of my own humanity
to see the world within myself
as myself within the world
Max, or Not 