The shattered mask glistens on the black marble floor,

tears like blood flowing from the staring eyes,

signs of guilt and unrepentant anger

wordlessly accusing and at the same time begging for pity

from a torment no words can express.

The marble shines like glass,

reflecting back the scarred visage,

a face as broken, torn asunder, as the mask

that once hid that face from view.

Where do the shadows lie,

what specter does the night purvey

that hides the vision of this mask,

a mark and portrayal of a broken man?

Who is to be judge and jury

for someone whose sins no words may express,

whose time on the world has been spent

in studious contemplation of the darker sides of life?

Perhaps no one can judge the guilt and darkness of another

without gazing into a mirror that foreshadows their own doom

and the sadness and regret that only a sinner may posses,

as he gazes deep and true into the reflection of his own self

shattered and scarified on a marble floor.