Poem of the Week: Look Not on My Body but My Soul

Thursday, May 23, 2019

May 24, 2019

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is disabilities.

I welcome comments on my poems at https://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com .

A poem about the outer ugliness of a deformed person and his or her inner beauty:

Look not on my body but my soul,

Only on the face behind the veil,

Only with the touch of inner Braille,

Knowing through yourself my being whole.

Nor ought you touch my skin but with your heart,

Only in the tenderness of love.

Though my outer self repulsive prove,

Of me the mask is but a minor part.

Nor should you know me out of charity:

Misfortune can become a kind of grace,

Yielding special wisdom to a few.

Bring mainly for yourself your empathy,

Opening a richer, wider view,

Doorway to a person much like you

Yet fired by the fate he must embrace.

If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/lookno.html. For more poems about disabilities, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/disabilitiespoems.html .

This week’s theme: Disabilities

5/22: Joanie