Who Is Laughing Now?

The steam fills the bathroom
Leaving a wet film on the mirror
After a few more minutes
A silhouette shuts the water off
She stares at the washcloth
Examining it for imperfections
She needs to know that the stench
Is gone and that no residue has been left
Not a spot, not a wrinkle
She steps out onto the shag rug
And reaches for the cotton filled
Egyptian handspun towel with the
Made in China label showing
She wraps her semi dried
Prune ridden body
In its warmth and woven comfort
As she sits in front of the mirror
At her vanity table
She inhales and exhales
Only to give
A soft unforced sigh
She takes her hand and wipes
The condensation from the mirror
As she just sits and stares at her self
Shaking her head repeatedly
She now sits back on the stool
And faintly says to herself
It is a bad day
It is a bad day

She leans over the table
And places her head against
The edge of the vanity.
In the background a voice yells
How much longer my dear?
She responds softly
“Not long, it will be over soon?”
She stands up in the mirror
And checks her butt, her legs
Her thighs, her eyes, her hands
And then she lets out another sigh
It’s a bad day
It’s a bad day

She manages to muster up
The strength to get ready
But she was not enthused
She wants to go outside just like
She is now….Bare!
But like anything in life there are
Rules that often time get in the way
Often under the disguise of
Control or order
And yet there is still chaos
In the universe
Now she manages to put on
Foundation followed by blush,
Rogue, eyeliner, mascara
She looks in the mirror again
This time saddened for she
Does not recognize the person
In the mirror
Her mind races back to
Her childhood

When she was young
She loved going to the circus
Eating funnel cakes and cotton candy
But more than the cotton candy
And the funnel cakes
She loved the clowns
How they were all made up
And how they made her laugh
Now that she is all made up
Who is laughing now?

Reviews

[Jerome F Knox III pseud..]

I appreciate the kind words...

[Jennesis]

This is so beautiful Rico. I love the imagery of the clown in the make up and putting on a face to go out into the world. Such a process we tend to go through in life.