i want to hear the stories
that ****** expressions silently tell,
how they came to be
who they are.

the ***** face of a  child
with wet streaks running down it,
what's their tale.

the tragedies of the small
inconsequential things
that matter so much to a child
of six.

and the worn face
with folds and a lifetime of stories
caught in the wrinkles.

what has he seen,
war?
or heartbreak? left without
a wife.

just waiting for death
to take him too.