Dill Pickle Relish
by Shelley Bain

Onions

Cucumbers

Bell peppers

Garlic

Wispy

Dark green

Ferny

Leaves,

Light brown

Oval

Convex seeds

Atop an umbrella

Of delicate

Yellow green fronds

Chopped cucumbers

and garlic

Simmering in

Vinegar

Onions and peppers

burning your eyes

tingling your nose

Tangy

Sour

Oh so sweet

Dill pickle relish

Packed in jars

On the shelves.

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.