Flawed Perfection

Tracing lines upon my face
Feeling edges hard and cold
Trying to age with endless grace
Too late to realise I am old

Pictures: Edges torn and bent
People, places, times I've spent
Waiting earnestly for truth
Chasing in vain my fleeting youth

Trusting only in the thought
Of purpose being part of me
Honest glimpses, though I've caught
Vanity remains the heart of me

Pictures: Edges torn and bent
People, places, times I've spent
Waiting earnestly for truth
Chasing in vain my fleeting youth

Winning hands of painful purpose
Torment, hurt and shame
Suddenly can reach the surface
And I no longer bluff my game

Fingers: Thin, grotesquely bent
Handfuls of brittle hair are rent
Realising now that only youth
Helps honesty end the need for truth