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"Vanity"

by

Chad Lilly

From our collection of polished sterling spoons
and newly redecorated sitting rooms,
that are never used, to catalogs full of precious clothes
of which we'll dispose come next fall . . . and manicured lawns
chemically fertilized to shades of green.
Our satellite dish six-hundred channel big screen color t.v’s.
Surgery to enhance what others see
provides relief from the insecurity
that calls for incisions to add, alter, or decrease
a beauty that is only skin deep and made mostly of plastic.
From our fashion queen magazine cover models
setting standards for all to heed . . .
to our “his” and “hers” convertible Mercedes
with black leather interior and personalized plates . . .
and page after page after page
of thirty-day weight loss guarantees;
we run our routine of chasing self-created illusions
the way children play make-believe,
pretending to be kings, princesses, jesters,
and thieves . . . with cellular phones
and answering machines that beep us when we're needed.
We're self-proclaimed VIPs in an all-inclusive game of image
and vanity is the energy we give it.

Posted January 20, 2000.