Timeless Poem by MARINA GIPPS

The fear of a past found in a birthplace.
Any record of me.
I remain anonymous and watch-less.
A beggar who gave it all away in her old days of royalty.
I have forgotten to tell time.
All I have are miniature bottles of gin,
Pocketsized as priceless jewels of obliteration.
I blot my tongue dry with alcohol
And the taste of sad fury.
My age is privileged information.
Don’t you know its rude to ask that of a woman?
Is that how you determine her worth?
My eyes have seen many things
And are laden with crows feet for such weary sights.
Why I do not go near mirrors.
Any doppelganger in an airport will bring me over the edge.
Like the time I was delayed and sweating profusely…
And there she was …how I was fifteen years ago
Before I met you in haste.
At first I thought that I could not sum up a more perfect dream
As our twin luggage collided and we each grasped the handles simultanously.
It felt like mimicry in a mirror…two mimes trapped in glass long after duty called.
It was the off-hours and I was more tired than she having lived this long.
I heard the bird’s wings winding as the passengers deplaned like old lost lovers.
This was twenty years ago.
Do not find me.
I sincerely do not wish to find myself.