Epithet

I was not prepared to exonerate praise

I am subcutaneous, an indelible will

That feasts on skeleton keys

And condemnation

I do not know how to be loved

Much less distinguished

*

My lips deny the passage

Of stereotypes but sincerity

Is impossible to exclude

*

Curious but oft nullified

By an aversion to ceremony

I am gripped by your candor

But the epithet does not integrate

With my own diminished esteem

*

For many, including myself, praise can difficult to reconcile with self perception. I sometimes find myself completely bewildered by compliments. I’ve even looked around the room when someone is being complimentary in order to locate the subject! On an entirely different note my vertigo had subsided to a nice generic dizziness but this morning it returned full force.

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