Poems

Wrinkles

I have some uninvited guests: they appear every
Morning, doing their best to ruin a smooth face.
At night, after a wearisome day, they are even more
Visible. Turning my skin into some sort of crinkled fabric.
They are beauty’s worst enemy: wrinkles!
They sneak upon you when you least expect it,
Challenging you to do something about them:
To fight, erase or perhaps delete them!
Well, they’re welcome to stay! I will not use
Botox or any other chemical or surgical procedure that
Claims the empty promise of youth after seventy,
Whose only aftermath is a hazardous side effect
To every other aspect of the face,
Turning it into a creased map of the world.
The only guarantee that these methods offer
Is to emphasize the presence of wrinkles that
Intend to show you who’s boss! If wrinkles were
The testimony of a lifetime marked with courage and
Hard work, I would proudly display them like a flag, like
A well-earned diploma or the symbol of a fulfilled life!

© Djehane Hassouna, 2005

Rainbow of Emotions, page 124

All Poems on this site are copyright © Djehane Hassouna. All rights reserved.