Smoke and Mirrors

and you,
with all your glorious flowering self-deception ~
your words are glowing embers

and your tongue stokes the fire
that engulfs me like paper
but I think

it fills the void inside of you.
how does it feel to sleep
with the lies you’ve fashioned from the flames?

some may wonder how you sleep at all
but I think they keep you warm at night.
your words are a glass tower that you pretend is opaque,

you can’t hide from this
or me
or anything –

smoke is filling your lungs,
I wonder how long you can go on breathing.
and I see cracks in the surface of your fortress

and tears in the fabric of your being,
and I’d dare you to look in the mirror
but I know

that all you would know what to do
is to turn it back toward everyone else,
as you remain nothing more

than a cold reflection
of anyone else
but you.

“1623665_10201570937901399_487327913_n”by paureta is licensed under CC PDM 1.0

Samantha Rose

Samantha Rose resides in Portland, OR. She loves using poetry as a form of social commentary, and such writing is often inspired by her degree in sociology and philosophy. She enjoys art of all forms and her work has been featured or is forthcoming by Nightingale & Sparrow, Mohave He[art] Review, Down in the Dirt, Quail Bell, and more. You can often find her painting with coffee when she's not drinking it with her nose in a book.

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Samantha Rose resides in Portland, OR. She loves using poetry as a form of social commentary, and such writing is often inspired by her degree in sociology and philosophy. She enjoys art of all forms and her work has been featured or is forthcoming by Nightingale & Sparrow, Mohave He[art] Review, Down in the Dirt, Quail Bell, and more. You can often find her painting with coffee when she's not drinking it with her nose in a book.

One thought on “Smoke and Mirrors

  1. Strong writing once again, julie. Love this line: …I see the cracks in the surface of your fortress.. #metoo has so many facets…

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