Finally

If it twists, it twists.
Say so, twist
with it and near it
and follow how it turns.

If it’s straight, do
the same; slide down it
in a long shout of joy for the ride.

If it’s broken,
see it broken.  See it
in pieces or still hanging
together though shattered.
See it, say it.  Don’t move
to repair it until
you can say it is broken.

If it is whole, say that;
no flaw or fracture to mention
needs to be created.

If it’s wrong, it’s not
right.  Admit the
flaw and speak to it,
coax it out, let it be
as ugly as it is.  Some ugly
you can smooth, some
you can’t, but you won’t know
until you look closely
and describe, almost endlessly,
the hideous nature.

And if it is beautiful?
Don’t be constrained
by the overused word —
holler.

As for yourself:

admit the smooth, the torn,
the twisted, the plain,
the ugly and the lovely
are all there.  You’re
not the beast alone, not
the angel either; no devil
without a saint by his side,
no splintered bone left
unscrimshawed and made
into new beauty.  Stagger
past your failed masterpieces
into the hall where your friends
await you with food and drink,
and no false modesty.  

Admit
what’s there and real and
true.  True
is all that matters.