HOW
a mirror stands before me:
DO
a crude reminder of what i already know.
I
they tell me that i shine,
LOVE
a beacon light to all i meet—
ME?
shattered glass would do me a better justice.
LET
i know they lie—that’s what real friends do.
ME
a rose is beautiful, just not me.
FIND
the wench in that window looks back at me;
ONE
she is tattered and broken, homely and worn.
WAY.




no wonder in her petals,

no beauty in that deadened bud.







i cannot see past those ugly thorns.

how could i love me?
she’ll never let me.

she’ll never let me find one way.