The Last Day I Wore Lipstick
“What Really Matters” by Ezekiel Zagar
The Last Day I Wore LipStick
Monique A. Gordon
I lightly colored my lips & cheekbones with a mixture of raspberry-ripple & terra-cotta lipsticks, then walked with my sister & my dog to Boxers’ Trail, a pollinated path of flora & fauna where Ali met Frazier, where a bronze Medicine Man on a horse on granite wears a horn-headdress glistening in morning light.
Guiding us towards meditative sounds of chirps, coos, & crackling leaves, where the wind spread seeds yielding scallions & berries, as the sun cast shadows on landscape, highlighting shades of green.
Where a woodpecker attracts its mate with hammer beats. Where a ground hog peeks from a hollowed out pine tree. Where a sundial covered in pale-green patina shows noon. That was the last day, I wore lipstick. Trading it for lip balm. Avoiding chafing from a face mask. Turning lipstick into oil paint for canvas.
