Sometimes I wake up
and realize
I’m fat
bald
ugly
and old

The mirror growls,
weary of my reflection

Sometimes I suck in my gut
when I pass women at work

My face can be disgusting
when I see it
blemishes
spots
pain

There’s too much of it
protruding from all angles
bulbous
monstrous
and wrong

It’s not what I remember
until I do

A pickled nose
rests
beneath an overgrown brow

I stand straight
sideways
nothing works

My profile offers less mercy
too much flesh
hanging

I wish I had a mask
or better yet
I wish I had one on
a whole suit
armor
I could get far
with a disguise

Except
I’d still know the truth
the mirror might, too
probably the women at work

What happened?
I wonder

Sometimes I wake up
and drink a beer
shit, shower and shave
in the guest bathroom

That mirror doesn’t know me
as well
I can hide

Kenny Via is an aspiring author who drinks way too much and writes far too little. He’s hoping to change the latter someday.