Maybelline

Everyday?
I might just kill myself
You do that every day
And, left without, you are alone

These tragic gifts
We present to others
Before they even ask
Seem disproportionately wanton

Carrying all our masks in a chest
Occasionally dumping them out
On a dresser top or into our laps on a train
To see what we're made of

It's not much
Some powder, some paint, some paste
A simple layer
Protecting each other

Upon whose behest
Have we plugged these holes
Turned on the gaslights
And taken to juggling?

For all our sake
Protecting each other
From the beast
That lurks in the shallow core

Bags in tote
And under eyes
And wrapped 'round thighs
This is no celebration

Where the bejeweled hooker cries
Between work and home
We live for a few seconds
In our only real moments

After the circus leaves town
We start up our own apothecaries
And trade pictures of baseball players
Mostly judged on here to there

But listlessly parading on main
Waving this godforsaken flag
Day in and day out
I might just kill myself
--
7.30.10