Reach

eyes wide,
tatters of self-dignity
clutched together in a defiant knot
across my chest,
every muscle is taut and
ready to recoil
at the first inevitable sign
of repulsion,
rejection.
inch by reluctant inch,
the sun uncovers me
as I creep, blinking, into your light,
a monstrous form,
laid bare with all
its numberless flaws and failings
and yet, from the shadows,
my misshapen fingers reach for you,
desperate
just to touch your hem.