Cover Up

Walking through a tourist trap

on a sidewalk next to

every type of shop you can imagine

trying to separate you from your money:

head, lingerie, vintage, book, knitting

I pass a man standing in front of a table of crystals

and a rack of tye-dyed dresses and next to

a silk-cloth-lined wicker basket of

clear glass jars, with white labels on the outside

or white cream on the inside.

I would not have noticed all this unless,

as I walked by he asked me,

ma’am – do you want to try this cream to

cover the dark circles under your eyes?

Until that very moment I did not even know

I had dark circles under my eyes

And I thought, after I said

no, thank you

Isn’t that like asking someone if they want

to turn off the TV if they

do not like the news?

As if that would make the horror disappear.

Just wipe on this cream and forget your

exhaustion, or iron deficiency or dehydration?