To Jaqueline Saburido, who was disfigured by burns

Dear Ms. Saburido
I saw the website, the story, the photos from before and after.
I saw you, the pretty girl in snapshots with friends, father, face.
And then I saw you without
Skin, hair, nose.
Without eyelids to shut in horror like mine.

And I thought, so,
A drunk driver hit you
Like he hits everyone else in posters, websites,
In e-mails about prom night

And I thought, so,
They saw you were the ugliest and made you their mascot
They saw your inhuman features unmade
And tried to give you dignity by
Reducing you to your tragedy

And I thought so.

But when I unveiled my eyes
From their precious, fleshy lids
I saw you holding tissues in your round pink hands
Wiping tears from your dismal visage.
My eyes searched your expressionless absence of flesh and I wondered,
Can she speak?
What's she think?

I saw the guy from the "before" photo
Trying to look playful,
Grasping your paper gown waist
As you hid your absent face.
And I thought,
You are much more than the pity poster child.
You are the edge of life, where life is more than life.
And I am more than fear of ugliness,
So I try to imagine looking out from lidless eyes
With lidless vision
And trying to be faithful to fleshless monster me
And crying flames from naked orbs.
But you must have found secrets there so please,
Tell me what life means when life is more than life
And I'll tell you what I see:
Your humanity's diminished none
Moving out, replacing skin.
To me you look like Adam
Incomplete, of God's spit and dust
A work in progress
Like us all.
So let's add
Clothes instead of hospital gown,
Some hair, some lips, nose, eyelids.
A hundred years ago no one ever returned from
Where life is more than life
A hundred years ago,
This just didn't happen.

No question now, that you've bought dear
Whatever secrets you may have found.
But your humanity wasn't in the flesh
Lips, nose, eyelids
It was, like all of ours, deeper inside
And now it's moving out to become your skin
. It tells us about your humanity as he grasps your paper waist
Tell us your flame-hardened humanity
Tell us the secrets that only dwell in fire,
Tell of your salamander pain
And tell us what it is to live
When life is more than life