JBWC SHOWCASE Chapbook 2020

DULL EYES AND BRIGHT LIPS
Her eyes are dull, but her lipstick is always bright.
Hair styled and breasts out.
Smooth skin covers her thumping heart.
She is everything they want, though she doesn’t know what she needs herself.
Stilettos make the edges of her feet ache, but she always seems to make do.
She exclaims at a constant how much they all wanted her, though she never tells us whether
she wants them.
But everyone knows that bruises can be covered up with makeup, and how easily blood dries,
and how often screams are muffled before the bed is even made.
Her body belongs to society. Her voice? Stolen.
How would she know what love felt like if she was never taught? We blame sexism on history
and culture.
When in our reality screeching fathers and complacent mothers bloom insecure girls.
But it’s alright, because there are always more eyes to look at and more lips to kiss.