A Squint

I'm in a constant state of winkage
like I'm in on a joke that no one else gets.

Do I look like I'm flirting with everyone?
Yes... I am. But

No one winks back.
They just tell me to buy steaks and be smarter.

"It's not the 50's anymore Daddy-O" I say with conviction,
"Why the fuck would I put meat on my face?"

I wink so hard
my skin bulges and bloats.

My eye is getting cocky.
My pupil must be huge.

My head is still as small as it always is,
which says not as much as it seems to say about its contents.

The blood leaves and the life returns.
The light and my cornea meet again, like old friends–

–old pilot buddies, who drool at the thought of seeing each other again.
They hug at Mach 3 and explode on impact.

Keegan Shaw 10/9/19