Beauty Routine
Alice Fanchiang
She braids silver thread tightly into her hair,
rubbed down with ink and indigo to get
that deep ocean shine.
Drops of sunlight are massaged daily into
her skin, already scrubbed smooth
and raw and salt-clean.
She lines her eyes with ash and coal,
freckles her cheeks with glitter shards,
plumps her lips and paints them with
her own fresh blood.
Red, red, red.
Her quiet mouth is full of pearls, and
if you look closely, even her bones are
exquisite, encrusted with diamond.
Crack open her flesh like a geode
and look- I dare you.
She’s become so beautiful,
so otherworldly,
she’s monstrous.
She’s so monstrous
She’s divine.
Alice is a Taiwanese-American poet whose work has appeared in Strange
Horizons, Liminality, and Through the Gate. She loves the summer,
mythology, and her dog named Loki. Her biggest beauty tips are to use
sunscreen and moisturize on the daily. You can find her online at Girl
On The Roam (girlontheroam.wordpress.com) or perennially on Twitter
@kangaru, chatting about books and superheroes.