I saw a photograph online earlier, and this came to mind…

the face misshapen
looks out of eyes
that have seen more
than the burden
they came in with

the face misshapen
learns to live with
being thought of
as ‘interesting’
and ‘full of character’

the face misshapen
has an affinity for Picasso
because it sees itself
as a cubist mutation
in a mirror

the face misshapen
asks not about the faces
that shape humanity
questions have a nasty way
of coming back around

the face misshapen
is used to going it alone
carrying every burden
seen and unseen
where no one else will go

the face misshapen
dreams of sleep
and night-time adventures
in which misshapen faces
do not exist

(20 October 2017)