Red Lipstick
Every day Putting on bright red lipstick
Smiling a scarlet
smile Blood
Red As red
As blood
Seeping through
The broken heart Smile that
Covers Heart
Break
That covers fear
That Fools the
face That
Smiles back
Smile
Signifying
“All is well”
Covering the unsaid.
This was written in response to the micro-essays by Jan Hudfield in Poetry Review Spring 2013.
And today is dVerse open link night 95 so I'm hoping to catch it in the pub before the doors close!!
and the mag is up as well and looks good this week
And today is dVerse open link night 95 so I'm hoping to catch it in the pub before the doors close!!
and the mag is up as well and looks good this week
( The pic has been edited by me but I'm not sure who it was taken by...if I did I would give them credit.....!)
mmm have to wonder how good the cover up really does you know...we can only fool ourselves so long...and our heart all the less...
ReplyDeletetrue true Brian...but sometimes needs must when you have to just go on going on!!! thankyou for coming by!!
DeleteRed lipstick is a powerful marking for one reason or another. I like "fools the face."
ReplyDeleteThankyou Colleen...red is a powerful marker indeed.
Deletei agree with bri...we can only fool ourselves for a certain time...i have my red lipstick days as well though...sometimes to cover up..sometimes just because the day feels like it needs an extra smile...smiles
ReplyDeletethankyou claudia...for me the red lipstick is not for fooling myself ...but in times of distress and family trauma...when it helps noone to be, if you like a bit shabby....I wear my red lipstick...it's a bit like a Roman soldier going out with his shield even though he may be quaking in his boots!!
ReplyDeleteLike the piece Gerry, too bad to many people try to cover up their emotion of the moment. It hardens the soul.
ReplyDeletethankyou walking man..there are dont you think times when the soul is so vulnerable that the only way to get through is with a little bit of cover!
DeleteNope. What you see with me is what i am when you see it. Might not be pretty but it is honest and easy to read.
Deletewould you not agree that you yourself have a wee bit of cover there? it's a very tender subject I think and a lot of the women in particular have understood the thought behind the words. But thankyou so much for taking an interest in my poor words walking man/
DeleteCovering the unsaid.. yes I like that...
ReplyDeleteMyself, maybe my sunglasses (hmmm that avatar is maybe wrong)
Bjorn ...you may be closer than you realise...just think of those rock stars...oh lets say Bono...then again maybe we are all glad of that!!! thankyou!
DeleteI can see why you thought my Grassmarkete prompt was appropriate, Gerry. This piece is beautifully composed, but oh, so sad. How long until the smile cracks under the pressure of keeping reality hidden away?
ReplyDeletePS I fixed your link on Mr Linky ... smiles.
yes you are right it is sad ..life at times is very sad and we need ways of coping...and a little bit of red for a while might just get us through....thankyou
DeleteBright red lipstick can definitely be used as a disguise. I personally prefer au natural --ha -- what you see is what you get. Better to be known as one is.
ReplyDeletethankyou Mary...I'm not sure if I think that the red changes the person ...merely helps them in a difficult situation and is so innocent !! thankyou
DeleteI like this Gerry because it is so true - many women put on red lipstick to perk themselves up when they are sad, or to put a brave face on the world.
ReplyDeletethankyou Pat...not everything needs to be known by everybody...I think.
DeleteThe irony, too. Red means LOOK HERE. nothing subtle. Look at me smiling or not smiling, covering and showing at the same time. This is incredibly thought-provoking for me. Thank you.
ReplyDeletethankyou janehewey for your encouragement. I'm with you all the way!!
DeleteYour poem is full of tension and drama. The lines are taut giving one a sense of foreboding that soon something will break. :-) Beautiful writing.
ReplyDeletethankyou so much for this very encouraging message ..mywordwall...that's what I hoped it would make clear.
DeleteOops.. I wonder if my first comment got through. Just in case it did not, let me say that your poem has a lot of tension in it. The lines are taut and gives a foreboding about something breaking sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young I wore red lipstick often, these days, never. I think I needed it then, in the way you describe. A great write!
ReplyDeletethankyou Mrs Mediocrity...I didn't wear it when young ..I had a silly theory that I was good enough without it...bah humbug to me!! having now been through the mill a few times I realise that just like Esther (Old Testament)...there are occasions when the best thing you can do is have a bit of a dressup and look your best and hang the consequences
DeleteSomehow that photo reminded me of Michael Jackson. I think he would have appreciated the setting.
ReplyDeleteRuneE..I love the comment even if I'm at sea with it...cheered me up!! thankyou!
DeleteThat Fools the face
ReplyDeleteFor me this is key. The poem works well because of the clever scripting. Excellently done -- from one who has no interest in lipstick!
thankyou so much Dave...perish the thought about the lipstick...I'm just thinking of Eddie Izzard on the One Show yesterday!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the latest Poetry Review Mag. Do you get it and have you ever had anything published in it?