You see me

Sun scorched from hustling across city streets
for a hot meal and clean laundry,
burned by a cold slap of winter winds
that braise my skin a slab of raw bleeding meat,
I wander alone a labyrinth of urban wilderness

In this veil of hiding, dark and full of shadows I am,
Secret angles and corners, confoundedly dark,
I am an absurd creaking shadow

You see me

Your adoring gaze rests upon these
Corners and angles, the crevices of my darkness
You smile at my depths and in your eyes

I am lovely

you search me and the shame fades,
your bright eyes pierce through these sheets of my darkened soul,
your words peel away the layers of my chains and straps, wipe away the gray clouds

Your Love rests steady upon me
In your eyes I am not just reflection
but the substance of
darkness and beauty