Reddish pink,
Chubby stick of
High-end
Lipstick, to give a
Pop of color and
Blend the same-colored
Skirt
Into her outfit.
Thin line of
Jet-black
Liquid eyeliner, to add
Drama
And enhance her eyes, accompanied by
Volumizing and
Lengthening blackest-black mascara
And an eyelash curler,
To make her eyes seem
Wider, more open, even more
Beautiful
And her eyelashes darker and more defined,
Simply mesmerizing
As she bats them up and
Down, up and down.
Then comes the
Light pink cream blush
To make her seem better rested,
Healthier, cheerier,
Happier
Than she really is,
But of course she’s perfectly happy,
The happiest of them all –
Why on earth shouldn’t she be?
She’s the one
Who is the
Most beautiful of all,
The one who
Even Snow White must
Bow down to in those matters.
Ah, she always loved that story, didn’t she?
Now, dearest, this is important, stay focused…
Now for the final touches
Of her mask, more expensive than
One a duchess would wear to a masquerade ball,
And of a different sort, of course –
Wouldn’t want to hide that perfect face, would we,
Where’s the fun in that? –
A stroke of
Shimmering highlighter in
Alabaster, like her marble skin –
People always do comment on her skin,
Which – they say -
Seems to
Glow from within,
Women ask her what she uses, how much
It costs
And she amazes them by
Saying that it’s all natural, of course,
Wouldn’t have it any other way…
Then sneaks off for a quick retouch.
She doesn’t consider it lying, you see:
After all, she possesses
So much natural beauty
That adding to it a little
Is no crime, as it
Is already in a different class
Than theirs –
What harm
Can a little enhancement bring?
Naught but a few more
Envious stares
And jealous remarks,
Nothing, you see,
To worry about.
After all,
She was raised to know
That with great beauty comes
Great responsibility, isn’t that
What they always say?
She would know:
She must be
Very, very careful not to
Charm them so much as to make them
Lose their heads.
That always makes them so
Unpleasant, their pining.
But it is just so fun, flirting
A little,
Showing herself off,
Then snapping all her
Promises back,
Making them look like lost, longing little
Puppy dogs!
Ah, the fun of it…
And yet sometimes,
Not very often of course but,
Lately,
More frequently than usual,
She wonders why she’s never felt
The happiness described in the rare
Books she sometimes flips through, the magazines
Happiness she’s always seen
In ugly, plump little working girls –
Come now, dearest, we mustn’t frown;
Frown lines are a sign
Of wanting character and
Bad humor –
The girls whom
She always tries to avoid
Let’s not let them sully our beauty,
Dearest,
That’s the price that comes with what we
Are blessed to have, being
So superior.
Oh, she’s slipped –
She has a smudge of
Lipstick on her cheek.
Better fix that fast,
They’re all waiting for you
(As well they should be)
Outside.
And yet
Sometimes she wonders
Why she,
The happiest, luckiest, most
Beloved and
Stunning of them all
Has never felt like that.
Maybe
There really is
A price
For flawlessness,
Even greater than
What she pays in cash?