​I Am Imperfection, by ​Patrick G. Roland

Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, by Frida Kahlo (Mexico) 1940

​I Am Imperfection

I run my brush over hollow curves,
trace the simple edges, the uneven lines.
Step back, fingers curled like wilted knuckles,
daring myself to feel complete.
I hold my breath and wait for doubt to creep in
before opening my eyes.

It doesn’t have to be perfect,
not like glossy magazine pages,
nor the textured brushwork of a master.
It only has to be…
me.

I infuse every pale contour with my truth,
exposing imperfections, fears, and vulnerabilities.
Yet, I’ve seen others cradle art,
shield it 
from judgment,
afraid to fail, afraid to look too closely,
afraid to find themselves within the painting.
The visage in my art stares back at me,
unsettled, waiting, yearning.

I become my reflection and my story on the canvas, 
they merge--
one imperfect portrait:
I see no flawless symmetry.
I see the scars of my choices--
a tattoo tilting too far to one side,
stray hairs drifting across my forehead,
a frame of bone, painted to life.
I see no difference between the story etched on me,
and the lines that bleed from my brush.

Each bears my touch--
proof I dared to create.
To exist 
imperfect…

yet whole.

​Patrick G. Roland

Patrick G. Roland is a writer and educator living with cystic fibrosis. He explores life’s experiences through poetry and storytelling, seeking to inspire others in the classroom and through writing. His work appears or is forthcoming in Hobart, Sacramento Literary Review, Maudlin House, Trampoline, and others. He lives near Pittsburgh with his wife and their two children.