Lineage of mirrors | Nicholas Nichols

watching me, watching you


my face is not my own               but it is
                         labored vision is a privilege
making people smile is always an option
                         my body is an excuse for entertainment
                         i’ve been labored                        i’ve been privileged with the duty of smile

my face is stubble and magic
                         it’s electric is the rhythm to my heartbeat
families make home of my face
                         i make a home worth smiling
                         i’ve been mammy                        i’ve been privileged with the duty of smile

my face is a joke with two punchlines
                         neither here nor there is enough             i must show it all
my job is to entertain                 and that’s all i’ve been privileged to do
                         if you don’t like the sound of my voice                shut      me       off
                         i’ve been silent                           i’ve been privileged with no power       which sounds
                         like       dead

my face is Days of Our Lives
                         drama is the biggest gift life can give                  something to fight for
freedom is something to fight for           like a loose noose
                         i’ve been the tragedy everyone is willing to tune in for                and tune out

my face will not make you ten pounds lighter
                         i can’t tell you the secret of looking this good
i hold the world and all it’s stories
                         i make war seem fun                   made death look spectacular
                         just in time for the news             i’ve mastered my death

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