Everyone thinks makeup is layers and layers of foundation alone, building up till you’re a skyscraper in beautifying chemicals.  I think that’s really shallow and basic.   How do I know?  I wore my makeup everyday but I loathe brown powder, It crawls on my skin, eliciting discomfort.   Don’t raise your brows too high, I see the confusion, I see the questions in your eyes, what then is the makeup?   It’s tons and tons of cheerfulness, A smile so flawless, I carried my burdens with finesse, A pawn in life’s chess.   Till I met this beautiful stranger, I’m the mistress of the game, I thought aloud, I’d smile at him like all the others, He’d never notice, that’s the order.   I walked to him, hesitant.  He looked at me, his gaze so radiant, My smile began to falter, in an instant.  “What’s going on?”, even my thoughts felt distant.   Lay it all down, lay it on me, Burden me, I heard him say, In split seconds, I broke into tears, Years and years worth of cares.  What mattered, what didn’t? 1 could careless, For alas, One had seen me maskless.

Esther Onuchukwu