10 and 2

The day is done.
I have scraped away my second skin,
Foundation, powder, blush
Until I stare at only myself
Unadorned, plain, non-descript
ugliness.

Plain brown eyes peer through
rings of gray and brown
no concealer lightens it up
no trick tones it down
almost lashless lashes
blotchy, pocked cheeks
wrinkling creases in the corners
dry cracked lips
hint of a moustache
blackheads, bumps, and pimples
nose too big for any face
all staring back at me
ugly.

I could look down at a body
striped in stretchmarks,
clothed in cellulite,
crisscrossed in pale blue veins
but I don't have the heart,
not today,
I just focus on my face.

One cream for the zits,
potion for the wrinkles
I poke and prod at my hair
until I see it all greying
one big old middle aged conspiracy
like getting zits and wrinkles together

then a moisturizer for the rest
fade the blotches, even the splotches
pretend they're freckles not age spots
turn off the lights
crawl into bed, next to him
careful, one errant sun ray
could send this son of a bitch
into serious morning shock.