lady godiva

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sitting across the cafe
drinking what appeared to be a latte
i caught her eye


she looked like an aging porn star
from some site i visited on some lonely night
she looked up from her paper
as i wrestled with my documents
                 all hurried, busy and blurry



she looked at me and i could see that she was pretty
even through the war paint she used to fill in the cracks
                from previous battles
she looked at me and i could see that she was pretty
even through her chipped lipstick
and even though vulgarity was beginning to stain her teeth

she smiled at me
i smiled a wide smile back 
 to  acknowledge her effort


she still wants to be pretty
even though the reasons differ now
                from when she was younger









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