And what is thy requirement?

What definition doest thou place,

Upon perceived humanity; what

Certainty dost thou find, in honesty

In the outlandish lineaments of

My face, that I am less than human?

For I have a heart within my breast

That beats as strongly as thine own,

And love and hate I feel in measure

Equal to that of any man or woman

That thou might hold up in comparison.

My face is not like to your face,

That is true but it is in the nature

Of faces to differ one from the other.

I have two eyes, a mouth, a nose

Aligned in natural symmetry, and

The whole lies soft across my

skull's bones, in the manner of any face.

If there be any doubt of my humanity

Then, of the truth of heart and

Mind and soul, then look toward

My word and deed for confirmation,

And I shall rise or fall at thy decree.

But judge me not, nor cast suspicion,

Upon my face.

End.