Model

“Wear this,” they say.
And she strips off her clothes,
Puts on the ones
She is asked to.

“Look like this,” they say.
And she changes her face
As they paint it, hides it
Behind a mask.

“Work it,” they say.
And she smiles, frowns,
Laughs, stares, acts
Like someone else.

“It’s a wrap,” they say.
And she looks in the mirror,
Wipes her face, finds her way back
To her old, real self

Her bare face
Clear, soft, free,
Touched, caressed
By the cold breeze.

Her  hair down
Flowing and full of life
Swaying, dancing
To the rhythm of her walk.

It lasts the night.
The sun rises
And she is in
For another day of pretension.

-Katherine Lopez
07 November 2010