Your face was so familiar
I didn�t see it any more.
I watched your eyes
To know you were listening,
To know you saw me,
To know for sure you loved me.
At night I would gently stroke
The fuzz along your jawbone
While I reveled
In the warmth of your body,
In the tingle of skin touching skin,
In the love that flowed between us.
You shaved off your beard yesterday
After I had left for work.
I stare at you from across the room.
You have the same familiar features.
You have the same love shining in your eyes.
You have no fuzz on your chin and upper lip.
You tilted my world when you changed your face.
I struggle to imprint your new look
Over the old you-ness in my mind.
I love you with and without the beard.
I love loving you and being loved by you.
I love the feel of your soft lips and smooth chin.
I will get used to your new look.
And then I won�t see you any more.
I will watch your eyes
To know that you hear me,
To know that you see me,
To know that you love me.
What you look like isn�t important.
Whether or not you love me is.
Mary [Shiff] Francis
(c) 2000