Poetic Discretion
You write about me
though you don't know me well.
Like an impressionist painter
you're prone to use exaggerated hues
to fill in the blanks
with your imagination.
It’s how you gain approval.
You even fictionalize my looks
for dramatic effect.
My black hair turns auburn.
My brown eyes gleam
with amethyst light,
like some tipsy anime character
confused about her identity.
I exist only under your pen,
held at an oblique angle,
so distorted you cannot tell
the truth from fancy.
I like the slipping from paint to ink and back again.
ReplyDeleteI’m a fan of poetry that gives a glimpse into what it’s like to be represented in another poets’ work—it’s a weird fishbowl. This poem is my favorite at the half-way point.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so many strong poems but I vote for this one, as the winner, for me. It’s a combination of a great “insider” poem, that also speaks to the universality of being seen as other than we are, whether in love, or hate. Beautifully written, vivid sense-related imagery.
ReplyDelete