Jawline

I thumb my way around this flesh,

Feeling for the bone beneath,

Like reaching for the floor with my feet,

Like sea swimming and finding the land,

Hand to face, 

To face the fluid feel of the flesh,

To feel it give way to the certainty,

The solidity of this borderline,

This jaw of mine,

Once more clearly defined,

Outlined with pimpled adolescent skin,

Now submerged beneath the surface,

Covered with fat and fur,

I feel with finger and thumb

Trace the bone at the base of my face,

As I have done

As I will have done

Most of my adult life,

This is what will be left of me,

When I have left,

What I will become,

Like it was going anywhere,

I'm just checking it's still there,

Like I knew it was,

In part,

The shape of my future