Lipstick dispensed with,

eye liner gone,

her face, true now,

looked unfamiliar

when she caught herself

by accident

in the rearview mirror,

before raising her mask

in the New Leaf lot.

“Survival depends

on concealment,”

she said quietly,

unprepared eyes

blinking in sun.

Emily Ophidian

MARC ZEGANS of Capitola is the author of six collections of poetry, does immersive theater, and is a creative development advisor.