An Unbeautiful Face

by Shelley Bain 

An unbeautiful face

stares,

at an unbeautiful face.

Gleaming pearls

spilling

into the palm of her hand

one

two

ten

twenty.

Lustrous saffron pearls.

An unbeautiful face

stares,

at an unbeautiful face.

Gleaming pearls

nestled

in the palm of her hand

one

two

ten

twenty.

An empty vial.

An unbeautiful face

stares,

at an unbeautiful face

and swallows

lustrous saffron pearls.