Lipstick

She leaned over the sink

her weight on her toes

and applied lipstick

in quick certain strokes

the way a man signs

his hundredth autograph

of the morning.

She tested a convictionless smile

as the lipstick retracted

like a red eel.

All day she left her mark

on everything she kissed,

even the air,

like intoxicating news

whispered from ear to ear:

He left it all to me.