Stefi Weisburd
it is possible to infer character from features
—Aristotle
rubber cheek anvil brow what
does a face mean hucksters &
physiognomists’ claim to decipher
moles like tea leaves read
the ticker-tape of intent behind
a stoic gaze which pinched nose
betrays a nation or a wife which cockle
ear keeps your secrets safe do we
pardon the temple for the sins
of a diminutive chin or forgive
the testosterone wash in the womb that
squares the mug and makes the meathead
hunger for assault vampish lips
or snub nose dumb bovine eyes to start
and then how the world scars
its ideograms on the skin dust bowl
tracks & dour ditches its melanin blooms:
bugs smashed on the car’s grill
and you, haunt in the mirror with your look
of confusion a field of sudden-flung crows
your blotches & muscle fret & drapery
of disappointment your eyes precisely tuned
to tell love blush from fever unravel
the grief that wrung your face like a sponge
look at me tell me who you are
