Reading by Val Cole

The Face of a Woman
By Chris Mills
2020

The face of a woman is where emotions stream live
Revealing the beauty that within her resides.
She rises to a challenge to make life better for just one
And works ceaselessly until the deed is done.
Her expression, as she sees the fruit of her labor,
Is a tear and a smile which aggrandize together.

But the countenance of an angel glows less brightly
Than the face of the fairest wooed uprightly.

She loves from her heart where she knows and feels.
If her lover is in tune and presents his appeal
As one who has risen above prurient ways
And cherishes her heart, her emotional forays
Which splash color across the noir screen of life
And a sparkle in place of darkened eyes—

Then she will give her frame to the one she trusts.
In response to his bravura to win her, she must
Expose her innermost and allow this one’s gaze
To alight upon her magnificent face
At the moment of release when emotions are spun
Into a binding of souls and never undone.

He bows to his queen, as he realizes the truth
That she conquered the fortress he defended from youth.
Her unveiled face is the dagger which pierces his heart
And he falls bleeding at her feet considering his part
In an amorous conflict of souls, minds, and lives
Through which only the slain have a chance to survive.