Pale blue eyes awash in bloodshot
Puffy eyelids sickly red
Skin weathered but not wrinkled
A permanent tan from hours spent walking in the sunshine
Sunken cheeks and worry/laugh lines crease sharply
Towards the angular chin
Brown hair shot through with grey - that old already hm?
Even so not a bad lookin' fellah
Too bad about the rotten teeth
And the empty pockets
And too much caffeine and nicoteine
To keep the hunger pangs away until the bills are caught up
And the calls from bill collectors an hour after going to bed
And the obsessive need to keep the phone on (just in case)
And a new job that is both a blessing and a nightmare.
But the ice cold eyes stare right into me
And I wonder if others see even a glimpse of the real me
I'm so careful to hide from the world.