Cosmetics do no good by Steve Kowit (after Vidyapatti)
Cosmetics do no good:
no shadows, rouge, mascara, lipstick--
nothings helps.
However artfully I comb my hair,
embellishing my throat & wrists with jewels,
it is no use--there is no
semblance of the beautiful young girl
I was
&long for still.
My loveliness is past.
& no one could be more aware than I am
that coquettishness at this age
only renders me ridiculous.
I know it. Nonetheless,
I primp myself before the glass
like an infatuated schoolgirl
fussing over ever detail,
practicing whatever subtlety
may please him.
I cannot help myself.
The God of Passion has his will of me
& I am tossed about
between humiliation & desire,
rectitude & lust,
disintegration & renewal,
ruin & salvation.
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