You See Me

 
All you rank strangers
dragged and whipped about,
you don't deserve my tears,
they will boil first before I
set gaze upon your broken
smiles as you whisper
and hint at my rotten luck.

You see the birthmarks of
my sins, the scars that flame
from my bloodless arms,
my buckled knees, my chinless
jaw, you see!

You see me faded
out, licking the curb at midnight,
fighting the nod as quarters
fly faceless into the ruined gutter
beneath my empty cup.

You see me there
in your nightmares,
fighting back my rusted tears,
chasing you beyond the trees
while you plow the earth
with my battered face.

Oh, you see me!

But, you won't see my tears.

They are only mine to taste.