Pock-marked—yet her face is perfection,
(or close enough for the reach of praise)
each enlarged pore, pit a star
in the banner weaving across sleek cheeks
below the hunter eyes that pay no
serious attention to past struggles
with oil, hormones, and stress,
but stake the opposing orbs
that must notice the pinprick fields, blooms,
before caught above, beyond the necessary scars.
About John Zedolik
For thirteen years, John Zedolik taught English and Latin in a private school. Eventually, he wrote a dissertation that focused on the pragmatic comedy of "The Canterbury Tales," thereby completing his Ph.D. in English. Currently, he is an adjunct instructor at a number of universities in Pittsburgh. He has published poems in such journals as Aries, The Bangalore Review (IND), Commonweal, Orbis (UK), Paperplates (CAN), Poem, Pulsar Poetry Webzine (UK), Poetry Salzburg Review (AUT), Third Wednesday, Transom, and in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He also had a full-length collection, Salient Points and Sharp Angles, published in 2019. His iPhone continues to be his primary poetry notebook, and he hopes his use of technology in regard to this ancient art form remains fruitful.
