Upon Retrospect

I thank my good fortune
That through these eyes
I cannot see myself.

When my face is in clear
View, I dread to admit
The number of holes:
Pockmarks and scars
And memories,
Nor the blemishes,
The cracked nose, the
bat-wing ears,
The defeats.

I thank my good fortune
That through these eyes
I cannot see myself.

For there is truth then
When I say that
I see myself as a man
Of honor, of worth,
An immortal machine
Spewing truths: a
Soul with a body and not
The other way around.

I have the courage
To say that I can see
And see others
In the same light, for
No man can dare to
Disprove me:
In doing so does he
Disprove himself.