Dress-Up

Two little girls play dress up in my room.
They pick up my clothes and my shoes.
They hum gaily as they pull out pearls
from my jewel box and array their knotted hair
with diamond bands. Bracelets slip over their hands
and rings fall from their thumbs as they smear tuberose cream
on their little palms and faces.
Then they find the make-up
and begin to color their soft, sweet skin
the color of bruises and seductive innocence.
Lips turn red like Snow White and cheeks go pink
like the hues of autumn roads.
Then they prance out of the bathroom
in heels too big for their miniature feet,
and hats to large for tiny heads.
But still they think they are beautiful
and ready for their life ahead.
One day when those clothes fit better,
and the heels work right,
they will prance out of the house to their runway
instead of my hall of lights.