Waiting in the Dentist’s Chair,
Watching the Slide Show
The girl had a pixie’s face
Sparkling blue eyes
A fairy dusting of freckles
And a big, gap-toothed grin
Like a row of druidic standing stones
I could have kissed her
That was “before”
“After” showed the same face, same pose, same grin
The freckles seemed faded
And the eyes looked older
The only sparkle was
From the perfectly manufactured smile
I would have missed her
In any crowd
On any street
In America