i am ugly and scarred
held together once
by catgut and staples
now
just scar tissue
my face is a jigsaw of flesh
from my calves and ass
my mouth a bitter pucker

underneath this mask
i still look like my pictures
handsome and smiling
full of expectation

i’m still picture-perfect
still smiling
Vietnam just took my face
not me

chest cold

i coughed up
a cold ball of phlegm
and wondered,
where the hell did that
come from?
something answered
from in here you prick
i recognized that voice
shut up you bastard
and keep pumping