mutatio retro

I stared at you
in the mirror
behind me;
you were unaware,
I could see
every line
on your face
pulled like a
badly mastered marionette

You smiled
with clarity
at first
then saw something
on the horizon
and lost focus;
we both did

I saw the scars
behind your ears;
a scarecrow
with too much sawdust
and not enough straw

I thought I might
need glasses this time;
Everything about you
blurred a little more
the closer I looked

You smelled of horseshit
and tobacco
and fear;
a face contorted like someone
bitten
in a zombie movie
who knows
they will be
discovered
soon

The swarm of dark eyes
in the treetops
now closer to me
than they were to you
ready to peck away
any weak spot,
descending on
the brain I left behind