I caught my reflection
in a shop window today
and almost choked
as the last brittle nail
snapped from the tentative grip
I had on my delusional vanity

There’s something about dark rings
around the eyes
that only seems to work
for the eastern Europeans

Maybe if my name was Ilana or Nadia
I’d be able to wear
the putrid pink lipstick
with a certain
“Hello, I’m comfortable with my sexuality;
would you like to put that theory to the test”
attitude
or carry the black hair and pasty face
wth the flippancy
of an avant garde Czech actress…

But it’s hard to see my way
towards that kind
of immortal confidence
when I’ve been draped
with a name that means

blind

Sheila Knowles

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/in-the-name/