Tear off the mask,
your face is glorious!
~Rumi
Stuck a flutter
those eyes north of your smile
seek a need so deep
your faux face mates a dis-
connect squeaked clean in mirrors.
Beneath your vain visage,
pieced together with luminescent
pigeon feed,
a real person dwells.
Fearing laughter’s cracks
you survey your composure
reporting aging’s reproach.
(Some butterflies live less than a month.)
Treat yourself to natural hair color,
schedule a meeting
where your real face sees the world.
Before you crack,
let it be.
Brenda Warren 2014
Visit The Sunday Whirl
undercaws 
Well done, Brenda! I admit to still coloring my hair. That made me think of how courageous it would be, to not tamper with whatever you were given.
LikeLike
I like this, Brenda. It is hard to show the world who we really are. I still colour my hair mainly because of my profession. The people here tend to be a bit pretentious. I am looking forward to retirement, lol.
Pamela
LikeLike
I would love to see that luminescent pigeon feed! 😉
Wordle Grotesqueries
LikeLike
I suppose most of us wear a mask of some sort..i love how you snuck the butterfly in..very illuminating
LikeLike
It is what is inside that counts.
LikeLike
‘your faux face mates a dis-
connect squeaked clean in mirrors.’ ~ cool phrase.
LikeLike
Fearing laughter’s cracks
you survey your composure
reporting aging’s reproach.
True enough. Aging can stage some stress and strains. But experience can be a stabilizing factor though! Great write Brenda!
Hank
LikeLike
“Before you crack,
let it be.”
Boy, is that sage advice.
Love the opening stanza.
LikeLike
I’m drawn to people who show their real face and hair color. Yes, yes, yes, before you crack, let it be. 🙂
LikeLike
Oh. I color my hair.. (and I’m a man) .. though most men in my age don’t even have hair… but still to show who you are is important…
LikeLike
I color my hair, too… What can I say? I like the idea of natural with a twist!… ha!
Brenda: good poem. You made us all question our hair and the face we show to the world.
LikeLike
My sister’s hair started going gray at seventeen, We haven’t seen her ‘real’ color since then. But unlike your character, she wears a welcoming smile, asking questions about everyone’s well-being, and promptly sets about making something to eat and serving refreshments. And somehow misses very little of the conversation swirling around her. I think your words reminded me of someone I didn’t want to think about, so my comment is a bit tangental, at best. Sorry,
Elizabeth
LikeLike
Don’t apologize, Elizabeth. Someone I don’t always want to think about, but see often was the inspiration for this piece. She’s young, though, and has no gray hair.
LikeLike
My real face and hair colour have seen the world for 20 + years!
LikeLike
You are beautiful, Viv. I used make-up in middle school, but am not proficient in its use. About 8 years ago, I quit coloring my hair…it grays slowly, but more popped through recently.
LikeLike
Ugly old bat, me, but I do like the hair now it’s white all over. It was the pepper and salt stage that made me go in for colouring it for a while.
LikeLike