Narcissa
My great-grandmother’s vanity
Heavy with mirror and inherited femininity
It sat in my mother’s room
And when we were kids
We would sit at the edge of the mirror
And play with her makeup
One time, spilling her nail polish
A mauve stain still sits on the surface
Punished, we never played with makeup again
Then one day, it was mine
And now it sits in my home
With my makeup within
And I will sit there
Alone at the edge of the mirror
Crying in all my beauty
Crying over that mauve stain
Trying not to ruin my mascara
Hoping I don’t fall into my reflection
And become a flower by the lake