The girl’s corneas expand over the small black abyss of pupil Tides of blue and hazel rising over onyx isles An unhinged eyelash balances precariously on its neighbor It evaporates with her quick blink
Directly beneath her right eye Below the mottled eggplant shadows The corpse of a capillary drains among the freckles Subterranean rivers of vein Pulse under thin skin
Her nose is spherical Etched by soft papery scars Pores round and gazing Culminating in a uniform valley
Lips are soft and pink and unkissed A source for a small steady trickle of pride Her mother’s lips But behind the outer façade The seamed surface is rough with nervous nibbles Ribboned with scars of worries and troubles
She lacks fourteen teeth Absent since the womb Those she has are either sickly infants or filled with grainy mystery metallics Some entirely fabricated with spatulas of amalgam Yellowed and cracking Rough and worn Spongy inner marrow screaming with pain She hides the stony incisors from view
The hair Curling and waving Kissing with reptilian tongues at her cheeks Neck Forehead Framing her face in brambles and cowlicks Indecisive of its true form Fuzzy with moisture Unwilling to obey The strands of a gorgon A monstrous tangle of personality Instantly recognizable Her hands attempt to soothe the undulating tendrils But they anger As stubborn as her Refuse treatment She gives up Rinses her hands And turns away from the mirror Sighing