Laura Cesarco Eglin’s poem, “Makeover,” appears in Michigan Quarterly Review’s Summer 2019 issue.
Blue lipstick in remembrance
of days of intense cold of nails
turning blue and lips to match
when she’s tired she applies
eyeshadow where the bags under
her eyes should be, she feels free
to mark her spirits rising
the red lipstick in her purse
is a tool for emergencies
in case one day her pallor lands her
in the wrong line,
a few dabs on the cheeks can
alter your chance of survival
pink as an alter ego
on the rim of the glass when she’s not
ready to leave
the place she left
mascara days make her tears
more weighty, on this black
and white screen so perfect
for nostalgia
Translated from the Spanish
by Catherine Jagoe
and Jesse Lee Kercheval
Read more of Laura Cesarco Eglin’s poetry in Michigan Quarterly Review‘s Summer 2019 Issue.
