I often wonder,
sometimes, if I’m
pretty.

My mother and
friends will tell me
it’s a silly question,
but is it? And what
is the answer I’m
looking for?

I know the way
my hair, in russet
mantle clad, springs
down my back is
pleasing to the eye
(at least to mine).

I know the way my
tall figure—yet not like
a statue or a pillar—
asserts itself into
the open air, similar
to a curved vase—at
times smiling, at times
the sudden night.

My hands, perfect
for piano playing
as grandpa always
said, are long stalks
of wheat that reach
toward heaven, wait-
ing to be reaped.

My eyes, green
when choleric
and hazel when
stable, are the
exclamation points
and periods of
my face—who
could interpret
my action-prose
without them?

And my face…
my face…what
do I think of you?

Are you pretty?
Even beautiful?

I can answer
this question
on my own—
without a lover’s
flattering tongue.

Face, you are
like my heart—
blemished of
course, but still
clean and pleasant.

There is indeed
a beauty in your
length and modest
smile—a forehead
too high like my
pride—but still,
balanced—but still,
pretty.