Witness (Just the Facts, Ma'am)
My skin is starting to break down.
Most days I don't notice it,
because I take care not to stand
too close to the mirror.I apply the working girl's facelift
and enjoy the illusion of tautness
before I fill in the cracks
with moisturizing makeup.I am playing my age for now,
and most eyes don't catch
but slide right past me,
while I am learning to look at beauty
without needing to touch it
or be it or envy it
or take it into myself.Years bestow invisibility like a benediction,
Rendering me safer:
free to explore language,
weave stories,
and forge myth.
My blood is still clean, and
I'm going to live for a long time.
Copyright ©
2001 by Karen Thompson
Previously appeared in Wired Hearts