Blurred Portrait

The charcoal eyes staring out
Above a smudged nose
The quickly sketched mouth
Loose, unformed,
With teeth exposed
The portrait blurred,
Soft, unfixed, temporary
Partially wiped away--
The truest likeness

Here
Not here
A space
But where?

You
Not you
An image
But who?

Dia de los Muertos

Remembrance
Recuerdos
A voice, a look,
A walk by the old graveyard.
Faces, yellow photos,
A tangled memory
A skein the living wait to enter.
Better to act as if dead already
Self portrait as a skull
Sugared with your name
In a candy coffin
Ready for eating.
Then let life take its course.