tears

she cried
the tears came down
one by one
till they flowed together
in two streams

the brine washed away
the makeup she wore
baring the skin beneath
the real her
she had rubbed one eye
and the mascara
made a beautiful smear

one or two strands
of her hair
were stuck to her face
held in place by the tears
her unbraided hair
was an ugly mop
in disorder

she had sobbed
and there were
a few drops of spittle
at the corners of her mouth
her lipstick - flaming red -
was smeared all over

sometimes she would blink
and a drop would be lifted
onto her eyelashes
and she would be stuck
in a half-eyed stupor
but she fought out
and the drop broke away

she arched her brows
and creased her forehead
every time she took a breath
and every such effort
brought out more tears

there i stood
taking it all in
i should have been with her
but i couldn't
she looked so beautiful

[inspired by the girl in the mehfuz video. i wrote this long ago. saw the video again and was reminded of it.]