Oily Faces
S H I N E.
My brown skin is filtered
Through a layer of excess oils. 
I have more to control and
I am more. 

Regular soap doesn’t work, 
Some dish soap will do. 
My mom says we don’t have enough
For the dishes anymore. 

Napkins soak up the oils
That peek through my pores. 
I’ll grab a sponge instead—
Another reason the dishes can’t be washed. 

More of me seeps through. 
My skin waits—
Glistening like the top layer of arroz con leche,
All bumpy and dotted with cinnamon. 
The sweet sugar scars will stay on 
My face (map). 

The guide for an explorer
Of oily faces. 
A collector and an observer.
We are different from 
The hot oil in a pan, 
Waiting for la masa to drop. 
We are many. 
We oily faces are more—
Too much for the soap bubbles
To pull down the drain.