She took hours
to gather herself
for the wedding;
infused a bottle
of L’Oreal Paris to rinse
away the gray
before styling
and curling her now
jet black hair;
pencilled in some eye liner,
applied carefully measured
brushstrokes of concealer & blush,
before completing the ritual
with watermelon pink lipstick
sealed in wet-n-wild lip gloss.
And even though
she is fully aware
of my preference
for au naturel.
she asked how she looked.
“Beautiful baby
just like always.
You look beautiful.”
