Faces

Once upon an age ago, I was good at faces
On the theme of two eyes, a nose and a mouth
Every minor variation
Loaded me with information

The width of a forehead, the curl of a brow
The space between eyes, their colour and lean
The curve of a nose, the height of a cheek
The cracks on a lip, the angle of a chin
Would resolve into instant recognition
No time between seeing and knowing
Only the moment
Only, ‘it’s you’

But back then, I saw fewer faces

Now walk across the college quad
Now I look out across the exam room cohort
Now I stand by the theatre door and take tickets
From a crashing sea of faces

The fashionable faces trying to fit in too hard
The empty faces whose minds are elsewhere
The normal faces who think normality is a virtue
Expressive faces of those who know it is not
The old faces, desiccated by living
The baby faces as yet unscathed
The overdrawn parent, the acne-pixelated teenager
The wild and free in jumble sale Max Factor
And all blend, all merge, all become one
And every face is the same face

If I don’t remember your face, I apologise
It’s not you, it’s me
I am overwhelmed, overfilled, overwrought with faces
Another simply won’t squeeze into the cupboard

But be assured that you can rely on one thing
I won’t remember your name, either.

 

February 2025

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Phone

Phone (A trio of Triolets)   I wanted to tell you the lights had changed But you were staring down at your phone I wanted to tell you how much we’ve aged I wanted to tell you the lights had changed And how an oak tree’s leaves were arranged And how we are never, truly, alone I wanted to tell you the lights had changed But you were staring down at your phone When you were staring down at your phone What was it, that you had seen? Was it a place that felt like home When you were staring down at your phone? And was it better than standing alone Waiting for the lights to turn green? When you were staring down at your phone What was it, that you had seen? So, what was it that you had seen When I wanted to tell you the lights had changed? Did you learn with joy why leaves are green? What was it, that you had seen? And maybe you felt how connected we’d been And laughed inside at how much we’ve all aged What was it, that you had seen When I wanted to tell you the...
Read more

Start Again

Start Again I want to start it all again And not be reminded every day Of somebody who has died I want to wake up not remembering Who crocheted our blankets And why there’s a sheet under the sofa cushions I want to go shopping and recognise nobody And not remember whose milk I used to buy And who enjoyed cheap QC sherry I want to forget how to say ‘used to’ And ‘was’ and ‘did’, and instead remember ‘Will be’ and ‘is’ I want to discover new towns, climb hills And forget that I no longer need to remember Who might like to hear about them I want to cross bridges and turn corners That I’ve never turned before This time, unaccompanied by ghosts I want my tears to come by choice Like knick-knacks and gewgaws, locked in a box Opened only when I feel like it I want to fly into old age on wings of amnesia Caring only for what lies ahead Rusty chains broken around my skinny ankles I want to start again, and again, and again And not be reminded, every damnable day...
Read more

Grammys 2025

Grammys 2025 (a trio of triolets) We know you, Kanye West And your fragile, macho type Sticking out your chin and your chest We know you, Kanye West   Proud of your manipulating best Believing every word of your own hype We know you, Kanye West And your fragile, macho type We know you, Bianca Censori And the deadness behind your eyes We know you’ll be afraid of reaching forty We know you, Bianca Censori Desperate to hold on to security You’ll dive right into the gaslighting lies We know you, Bianca Censori And the deadness behind your eyes We know you, soulless Hollywood And your paparazzi prurience Holding only money as the highest good We know you, soulless Hollywood That nothing sells better than tits and blood Throwing artists on the fire at the very first chance We know you, soulless Hollywood And your paparazzi prurience   February 2025
Read more