Appearances

By John I. Blair

Far too often
The villains in our tales
Look ugly,
Uglier than most of us
Can tolerate.

Thugs, mobsters,
Ogres, orcs, trolls,
The walking dead,
All have faces, bodies,
Half ruined
With wounds and scars,
Boast missing limbs,
Steel prostheses,
Speak with ravaged voices.

What does that reveal
Of how we truly feel
About the maimed, the halt,
Victims of violence, accident, war?

If beauty’s
In the eye
Of the beholder,
Where then is love?

©2017, John I. Blair 8/31/2017