My Face

What about my face? I don't spend time
looking at it, got out of the habit at sixteen
when my face looked like the winner in a
Craters of Mars Lookalike Contest. I spent

so much time scratching my face
that scritch became my theme song
and screech the sound emitted
as horrified humans shrank from me.

And now, an app that finds your twin
in history. Why would I want a twin?
Could the world endure two of me?
For a class project in middle school

our son, Ariel, wrote a report
on General Rosecrans, my great
great grandfather. The photo Ari found
of him bore a remarkable resemblance

to me. Rosecrans, a general for the Union Army,
is famous for losing the battle of Chickamauga
in the Civil War. Evidently, he pissed off
General Grant by refusing an order that

would have won the day. Rosecrans,
also known as Rosy, went on to become
a United States Representative from
California. A street bears his name in LA.

What would great great grandpa think
of his maybe not so great great
grandson -- a conscientious objector and
lifelong pacifist? Most likely old

great great pap pap would hop
on his horse, draw his shiny sword,
let out a screech, and ride into
the rosy penumbra of history.