Salvation

Don't
Look at me
That way.

You know,

Look at me
With your eyes full
To the brim
With pity.

Don't look at me,
Like that.

Don't think of me
As a heartbroken lover -
Starcrossed, simple, stupid;
Naive and lost as a lamb.

Don't think of me
Like a leprosy-ridden begger,
Arms eternally outstretched,
Waiting for someone to notice and care.

Please.

Don't think
THAT
Of me.

Don't think of me
As a child of war.
Displaced and destitute,
Staring blankly out of a black and white photograph.

Think what you like.
Just please.
Don't think that.