Natasha Paints Her Eyebrows On

Natasha paints her eyebrows on
It pained me a little when she told me
-A little slip of a thing, she walks
Like a soldier,
Carrying her wisp of a torso
Like a whip of spring steel-
I pointed out that I had no eyebrows either
Just a few springy hairs
We laughed
And she offered to paint mine on too.

Natasha has a ring in her lip
It pained me to look at it
And wonder what it is like to kiss
Lips like those.
Like barbed wire
Around a secret compound-
Is a ring like that meant
To test
To see
Who will overcome the metal?

Natasha thanked us over and over.
It pained me some
That she should feel the need-
But it was welcome
To see her beside my son
And a new voice
A new story
A fresh face
With eyebrows painted on.