A NOTE TO A WOMAN I ONCE KNEW

I've seen better photos
than the one I saw
yesterday of you
trying to smile
into a corporate camera
& failing
miserably.
You must have summoned
all your energy
to spar with the lens,
upturn your mouth,
& not kill yourself
afterward.
An altogether
sickening
experience
for both
of us.

But fear not!
I won't tell.
The price
has been
too high
already.

Norman Savage
Greenwich Village, 2016