girl / sleepover/ locker room/ birthday

we're pouring foundation 
into medicine cups to drink.
mirage of grape as purple as a pupil
can be while still being a camera lens.
there's something to be swallowed
in each pigment. there's a bag of
makeup in the bakery & each cookie
is a cake of eye shadow. we rub
macaroons on our eyelids & gingersnaps
in the crease. we take small spoons 
instead of brushes & we contour our faces
to look more like plates ready
to hold a nice breakfast. a fork
scraped across an eye shadow palette
a fork ringing between teeth. there was
a sensation of cherry & she asked 
if i had ever done this with a girl before
& i said no & she told me to try
to hold my face still while she traced
the circumference of each eye. 
ice skating rink.
soup bowl. place-setting. 
she painted symmetrical black wings & my eyes 
called like crows so loud that i woke up
my parents & had to hide in the hall closet
with her & all the mis-matched towels.
some people paint their face like
a door knob. 
some people paint their cheek bones
like saucers. 
i have tea cups under my tongue.
she takes her thumb & rubs it under my eye 
to remove the black smudge. she is gentle.
she has nails. she wants to make 
a whole china set out of me complete 
with napkins. 
another girl folds herself
& lays in my lap & i fold myself & lay
in another girl's lap & there's a whole
bathroom full of girls 
& we're getting ready
for who knows what. it might be prom
or a wedding or we're all escaping or 
it's a dinner party & they're going 
to serve the entree on our noses.
i practice holding my breath. i practice 
holding my eyes closed for a brush. 
i take a knife & smear butter across
my friend's forehead just like she 
asked me to do. we're a cluster
of dinner rolls 
& when we're pulled apart
there will be steam & sweet air.
i tug on an elbow a cheek a jaw.
i tell them to make me into 
something worthy of devouring.