Blackheads

 Today, 

the child 

that opened 

my womb, 

the only one 

that was born 

a stranger 

to you, 

obediently lifted 

her chin, 

and let me purge 

her skin of 

imperfections. 

This remains, 

the quest 

for clarity, 

to find 

no blemish 

in any extension 

of myself. 

She understood, 

as you 

once did, 

that it was 

love 

that made me 

reach for 

her face, 

that the sting 

would be short 

and the soothing 

immediate.