Frozen faces
appear and disappear
from different places
in tinted frames
on mantelpieces
and walls
at any time.

Fleeting images
alone
or hand in hand
entwined like vines
come and go.

Along a path
faces
pass by opportunities
for sale or lease
an empty wall
narrow avenues
and one-way streets.

On the other side
gardens thrive
behind ornate gates
where delicate flesh
is protected from the sun
by deodorants
and suntan lotions.

Faces
with scabby wounds
that weep
and fail to heal
whose future
is in the past
continue along a path
leading nowhere
that doesn’t exist.