Blind Date

On my first blind date as a widower, two
years ago, we went to a restaurant, where,
 
when it came out that I was seventy-seven,
she gasped, as if seeing a spider on her plate,
 
thanked me for telling her, then promptly
and permanently dropped out of my life.

Face of Suspects

So much is visual, and when alleged murderers,
rapists, child molesters, etc. are photographed by
law enforcement, their faces are limp, lips down
at the edges, hair unruly, eyes blank, so that you
 
would not want your daughter, son, sister, brother,
anyone you loved, even just liked, pairing up with
one; and I want to know why photographs taken
after an arrest but before an arraignment make
 
them look unsavory, as if the camera decided
beforehand on the outcome of the legal process.
Why can’t a suspect (aka an alleged suspect) look
natural, more like the pictures of your family, as
 
in a photo album or mounted in a hallway, with
a small smile, and if not smiling (understandable),
not quite so foreboding that you want to cross
the street before having to meet one face to face?

© Ronald Moran