Not just once have I heard that I collect grime like a magnet
Sludge under fingernails, orange tint nicotine stains lips
Inside of middle and pointer hold that same glow
Spilt milk on my pants from last week or maybe this morning

Fresh from the shower but still ash dusts my eyelashes
There’s a smudge of something still on my cheek
The water was brown as always
Tar rivets sliding from my scalp swirling with the swamp at my feet

One day coal powdering my cheekbones like a fine blush
Another it’ll be cooking grease a far too heavy foundation
Tea coated knuckles, paint specked elbows, soot circled brow
Globs of possibly unknown mysteries cling to my knees

Looking at the soles of my heels black and shining as obsidian
Flaking oil, rust, congealed  whatnot seeped into my pores
As it will always be