botox

i hardly recognized her,
her face
was so stiff with botox injections.

she was 63 without a single wrinkle.

her brow was clean of lines,
her mouth, around her eyes, nothing.

it was like she was wearing
a porcelain mask,

not forever young, more of a
still life, stuck
in neutral

without a past.

a life unlived, no emotion, no
joy or pain,
no wisdom
seen. her skin shone
like an

apple, darkened within,
but on the outside
was a perfectly smooth
and empty sheen.