Hong Nguyen-Sears
Under the man’s face
is a second face, but
he will never let you see it.
While he’s asleep you could
find the flap on the side
of his jaw with your fingernails.
You could peel it back,
this other face, this outside
face—if you were brave
and quick.
He wouldn’t stay asleep.
Halfway finished, when you could just begin
to notice the smell underneath
peeling skin,
his real eyes would open.
Hong Nguyen-Sears’s work has previously appeared in Room Magazine and online at The Atrocity Exhibition and The Story Shack. She is currently pursuing her MA in English from the University of Calgary, and has previously studied with the University of British Columbia’s MFA program. She lives with her partner and their rambunctious puppy.
