face recognition

instead of a machine i wish that
a creature would emerge from a pool of water
to take my face. is this a craving for angels?
i am more well-versed in demons. 
soil gods. there are several face-stealing spirits
but i think of the one from avatar 
the last airbender, koh. she takes faces
like masks. sews them into her insect flesh. 
drowning in her guts. i would go to her
& give over everything for some brief
bargain. at least with her i could be 
taken by the shadow. i do not want
to be consumed by just any deadly
little rich man. i would much rather
meet at the crossroads with a knife 
& a plate. trade my eyes for a bucket of gold.
walk around with them. live as a omen. 
there feels like there's some honor 
in the theater of meeting the ghost. 
of severing flesh. of being a true rotting zombie. 
instead, i let the machine feed. i give it a spoon
& a cafeteria tray. i let it trace my lips
as it considers where i keep my coins. 
prints ads into the hunger space. 
all my faces in a hallway of use. this one
for selling a pair of legs. this one for 
stealing a sliver of my anger & transforming it
into sorrow. i find a lake to look into.
see all the monsters beneath the surface. 
none of them breach for me
no matter how much i beg.