Porcelain Perfection

By Catherine S Mathew

I looked in the mirror today,

A porcelain laid face stared back at me,

The eyes, as empty as the promises I’ve kept,

The hands, desperately failing to scrub off the sins it was accused of

What happens when the delicacy of your face cracks,

Soaked with tears,

Poured over the years?

How will you hide the tiny million cracks

Seeping through this porcelain perfection?

I don’t look like I belong,

I look like my mother

And my hatred burns me from within,

The kiln firing up till all my insides melt and boil

I burn while you drown me with your love.

When they crack me open, they'll find nothing but ashes and dust,

The cremated remains of someone from a lifetime ago.

I hope it's enough to smear across your face

A mark of who I was, until I wasn't.

By Catherine S Mathew