My Poem “Homeless Woman Applying Makeup on the Patio Outside Eatwell Grocery” was published on MasticadoresCanada as a reply to the submission call on the theme of “Women.” My gratitude to Editor Ray Whitaker.
Homeless Woman Applying Make-Up on the Patio Outside Eatwell Grocery
Color-stained hair, yellow
as butter over crisp onion
caramelized by the morning sun.
Her face trained by time.
Liner tracks a roughed up path.
Blue smothers the past.
Mascara curtains dreams.
Layer by layer, liquid sand
conceals rock. Her mirror blushes.
Red lips sip Rosé, poured
from a 4-pack.
© Barbara Leonhard
I wrote this poem while observing the woman one morning on the patio outside Eatwell Grocery. I wish I had a photo of the woman. Her face told a story. I wondered about her life. She was at one time a beauty, but what path led her to her morning routine on the patio outside a grocery store? She was a fragile woman, petite and sun worn. Her face revealed her age. Where did she sleep? If she had a place, surely she would have fixed up her face at home. Also, wine for breakfast. That made me curious.
Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver 
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