I Strive to be Honest but….. by Ben Rasnic

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.”

Ben Rasnic is originally from Jonesville, Va (population <1000). His published poetry collections include: “Artifacts and Legends”, “Puppet”, “The Eleventh Month” and “Synchronicity”.