what has happened
I was wondering
to the pretty, pleasant girls
at the cash register
who know just how
to treat a customer
this one, too young
where did she come from
with manners
as rough as the grave-
as tough as nails
frightening
how aggressive
how insensitive
I thought she was
impolite and never smiling
I turned away and turned back
it was as if a season
in an instant, changed
contrast so stunning
I could hardly believe
it was the same girl
terrible look upon her face
in an instant was someone
terribly beautiful
that deserved recording
by no less a camera
no less a cinematographer
than Sven Vilhem Nykvist
in color though
rather than in black and white
the difference between
day and night
and what sparked it
I wasn't sure
I asked, she told me
it was nothing
something she
and the boy packing shared
she cashing
and bagging
what she sold as well
insisting that the tip
was hers not his
what a mask she wears
Afghan girl,
Sharbat Gula's face
not more frightening
than her face is usually
like something wild
about to spring
which just might spring
and you had better beware
that other mask
underneath it though
her laughing face
ecstatic about life
about being alive
happy and I was unaware
thought she was made of nails
throughout and all through
only to find her
full of petals also
underneath facade
as soft as could be
as pretty as could be
© Obediah Michael Smith, 2011
2:07 p.m. 22.06.11
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