They say red is the color of love
Color of sex, fire, fancy
But the lips of a woman in red
They kill
That's not red
That's blood
She spills it over men
They lust over her, and she muses
Their kiss is the signal of death
They mark their territory
Their lips are knives
They slice through bullshit like butter
Men fear her domination
Cus if she takes the reins
all hell breaks loose
and she is loose
Her curves are plum
her hips unapologetic
her hair grows like snakes, her protection
Her waist a bit too big
because you can't expect her
to fit your skinny, slim, size -2 jeans
while simultaneously having dreams
that are larger than life
she wears red like the apples of Eden
a reminder
that despite her beauty
she's enthralled in poison
that she deals with hades
that like Persephone
she becomes the queen of the underworld
out of her own volition
Cleopatra reborn
A sorceress the likes of Circe
Petrifying men like Medusa
Mother Earth
Like Helen, she sparks war
Like Pandora, she is fearless
she holds the universe in her tongue
her lips drenched in crimson, scarlet,
in blood, red, lipstick.
- Yaniel AV
YOU ARE READING
Red Lipstick
PoetryIn the 1700s Red lipstick was banned on the basis that women were using it to "seduce men". Be it witchcraft, sorcery, or pure feminine magic, Red Lipstick is a poem about the power of women and female presenting persons. How femininity holds power...
