beauty

his curled hand,
the short arm,
the limp, the bump,
the disfigurement is beauty
in someone's eye.
the missing
tooth,
the ear mangled.
fire scorched or
scarred,
the skin like parchment
on a wet page,
loose with age
the gravity
of it all bringing us
to our knees
in front of an
uncompromising mirror.
how fragile we all are,
misunderstanding
what any of it
means.