Face Values Poem by Chukuemeka Akpe

The one at war with self
Seeks the peace with world;
The heart shrivelled with fear
Puffs out a hot air of bravery;
The soul is faint with weakness
Still sinews tattoo with strength;
The untold bequests of hatred
Shimmer in wrappings of love;
The glossy visage of a robust life
Oft hides the debris of infirmity;
There is that scourges for purity
Yet revels in composts of impurity;
The phosphorescent smile attracts
As dark foreboding thoughts repel;
And the polished gem of a brilliant mind
Clasped in a dull tongue as pearl in an oyster.
An endless maze of paradoxes:
Good and Bad,
Ugliness and Beauty,
Astride the horse of Janus.