i gaze
nearly blind
to the reality
of my own reflection

every blemish
every scar
tells its story

from the divot in my forehead
carved out by that baseball bat
so long ago
to the sadness lines
from some foolishness felt
only this morning

to be aware
in this moment
is a choice

to be so bludgeoned
and beguiled
strikes me

like the memory
of every crime
every humiliation
my ego has ever endured

they echo through
all levels of my limited understanding
of consciousness

and all i appear
to see now
is simply this

clear as mud
i stand before this
unforgiving image
of my own creation

and giggle

m(-_-)m