Far better to be ugly
He said his breath moistening her skin
Far better to be from the stink and mire of life
Than to worry each time I look in the mirror
Far better to be beauty
She said leaning away
Far better to be ugly
He said his fingernail picking at the scar
Underneath his lip a bite mark
Branding him and his ways
Far better to be beauty
She said trying not to look
Far better to be ugly
He said smiling over the last light
Of the morning sun as it left the earth
For the rest of the sky
Far better
She said
Far better to be ugly my darling
For ugliness cannot fade
Its hideous exterior always masks
the story beneath
Far away she thought of tomorrow’s mirror
And wondered what it would reveal
Far better to be ugly
He said as he watched her walk away
Far better to offer the opportunity for
Revelation and discovery
She knew it would reveal.
Text: J. L. Nash, 2010
Images: Martin Pichler by Kosmas Pavlos ©
