Behind the Curtain of Staged-Perfection 

by Janae 

9/11/14

 

Behind the curtain of

perfectly staged wisdom and poise

is a girl,

who desperately seeks perfection.

 

Her skin, like a thousand mirrors, 

mimic the stones others throw,

chipping her away, leaving scars like crackled glass. 

 

Taking each blow like an iron warrior,

she fixes her gaze on the fiery flames

so others perceive her mighty and strong-

but the devil is no fool to his home.

 

So, girl, with a heart like a sponge

absorbs words like gasoline

and she ends up burning,

erasing, 

misplacing 

herself 

using magazines of Hollywood kings and queens 

for bandaids 

to cover up her, otherwise, visible wounds.

 

Strung from 

opinions, 

decorated with

etiquette,

shellacked in 

obedience-

her world, a compass 

and a pair of eyes as its tilt,

she spins and spins

scrambling her conscience, 

confusing the door handle

between fake and reality,

dreams and wrecking balls,

the truth from the lies.

 

Too many possible suspects 

steeping in the limelight of her thoughts,

lacking enough clues to clear the haze, thus, 

leading her astray

further and further from the pearlescent gates

to a whole heart and a confident state of mind.