Recompense
I once criticized those
who spent pounds of cash
on dubious beauty remedies.
Now I nightly drip serum
derived of crushed flowers,
chopped leaves,
and disemboweled fruits
from a glass pipette
onto my flaccid cheeks
in hope that the youth
it purports to restore
blooms in direct proportion
to its dearness.
Christina E. Petrides, an American, has taught English on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, since 2017. She is the author of three children's books, all published in the ROK. Her poems have appeared in periodicals worldwide [many are collected in her first poetry anthology, On Unfirm Terrain (Kelsay Books, 2022)]. Her website is: www.christinaepetrides.com