Red Lipstick

I wore
red lipstick the other day
and felt beautiful for the first time in years.

The bruise on my eye
didn't matter.
I put eyeliner and mascara on
and made eyes at the mirror like I haven't done
in years.

I pinned up my hair,
I celebrated me.
Victory rolls for my victory dance,
"Yes We Can!"

I felt free,
I felt sexy,
all thanks to a tube of red lipstick.
I think I'll wear some again today.

Author's Note

I welcome any constructive criticism :)

Reviews

[jcfrancis]

i genuinely love this poem! I'm not female, but as i age i can feel a deep connection to this poem. If I were to offer any feedback to help strengthen the poem, I think it would actually benefit by omitting the last two stanzas except for the last line. If you left the space and simply ended the poem with that last, bittersweet line, i think the brevity would make it more impactful. I have written numerous poems similar to this in style and content and i guess that's how i would have done it, but that's only because that's how i write and that's how it connected more powerfully with me. But it is a gorgeous poem. I also like the title. I see many people's poems where the title does not strengthen the piece itself. It's a simple title that sums it up nicely and one that you can recall the sentiment of the poem just by reading the title. In my opinion, that is the truest purpose of the title of a poem and i think you did it to perfection here. Nicely done!!!

[Ayisha Upshaw]

I love love love this. Very inspiring.

[Coyote Poetry]

A beautiful and hopeful poem. I like the description. Create vision of a woman coming alive and feeling free and sexy. A good place to be. Thank you for sharing the outstanding poetry.
Coyote