Dark Lipstick
Rohini Sunderam
A bloodied gash upon my lips
The purple wound should not be seen
Lest they should say, “I told you so,”
And love I thought I had, has been
A sorry, sordid, lost affair.
Dark lipstick covers all my dreams
How long will it conceal my plight?
Another love, another fight
Some other way to turn a trick,
Another reason… dark lipstick.
Until I learnt I can fight back
Not with fists, or fire or might
But knowing I can change my tack
Knowing I can walk away
Knowing I can live again
For I have learnt to love again
Learnt to love myself again
No more bruises on my lips
Yet I still wear dark lipstick
Not as a mem’ry or charm that would
Fend them off, but now because
The mirror says, that I look good!
