Posted a selfie of the two of us
(Would that be an us-ie?)
Kept looking at your face in the photo
Something was off
Had this move aged you?
Did you suddenly lose weight?
Fretted, silently of course
perhaps you are ill.

Days passed.
Studied you
sleeping soundly beside me
still puzzled.
What had changed?

Today you had your native ponytail cropped
in preparation for a job interview.
Yes, much more professional,
I gushed,
more than I actually believed.
Not good to go in
looking like a hippie I suppose
first impressions and all that,
Noticed that our neighbors call you Jack
at your behest,
I assume.
To me you are always, Juan

At your age
why this effort
to fit in
in
our new
New England home.
Is it my aging activist’s mellowing,
I see in his face?

“Amazing how a haircut
makes such a difference
in your appearance,”
I muse aloud.

“Amazing,” you reply
with a tinge of melancholy,
“you haven’t noticed
for over a week,
I shaved my beard.”