Face Cards

Guess what your Slavic/French Canadian/Polish face is saying?
It's saying: dentures in the near future, babushka
It's saying, "Remember that caricature that you flip around and it's a
beautiful woman? I'm the other side."
It's saying - in so many words - peasant stock, tired, beat the fuck
up, ancillary, fixed in time - all time - Russian nineteenth century
time, which is all time.
Your sand bags falling into your cheeks
Your bulbous bumpy chin
Your lower lip sticking out farther than your thin purse snap of an
upper
Your thin lids folding over your short, stocky eyelashes
Making way for two beady beads
Short hair like a hat
Gold necklace like a melted down perfume cap

Off at Jamaica
- so utilitarian
Cleaning houses?
Doing nails?
Nursing aid?
Sidewalk bazaar?

Across the aisle and opposite in position
Reflexive and variable
Like some other worldly queen of hearts
Caddy corner and upside down
Going to college
Short shorts
Form fitting button down top
Resilient skin exposed
Supple and forgiving
A touch of make up
Bound to find a husband at the right time
With the right connections
Stupid enough to make it out there
To get enough stock piled
Affording his girl:
Painted nails, a house maid once a week, a nursing aid when needed,
all the time in the world to shop the sidewalk bazaar.
Timeless;
As 1980's Darryl Hannah is timeless
Pope of Greenwich Village as all time
Wall Street as all time
Blade Runner as all time
Clan of the Cave Bear as all time

Flipping the card around and around
Again and again
It's easy to see one face more than the other
Compelled by elasticity
Scared of plain hard ugly
Hiding from the middle
Deep shading
Giving way to line
Heavy handed
--
9.2.09

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