Make Up

Make Up
By Keith Kareem Williams

That foundation can't cover up the fact that you've lost all the color that you once had. Life, sadness and loss have drained the color from the rainbow that used to be your soul. Most days you do whatever it takes for you not to have to face all the things that have gone wrong. You can't even remember the last time you felt right.

That lipstick, or lip gloss can't cover the memories of all the kisses you regret or people you wish you'd never met. Bad decisions plague and haunt you like sickness and ghosts. There's a line of lovers that lied promises that were never kept. It's no accident that more than a few mistruths have also passed through your own lips, whispered in the ears of the unwary. You've learned from the best so it's to be expected.

The mascara under your eyes will eventually run when the tears start to fall. There's only but so much one person can hold in. Even storm clouds in the sky eventually burst. I'm sure that in quiet moments you've shed your share of tears secretly, without the thunder and lightning.

Come outside with me and turn your face upwards so that the rain can wash away the mask you hide behind. Let me see if I can bring you back and restore the natural color that you've lost. You can try to fool everyone else but all the make-up in the world can't hide the grey you keep tucked away inside.