Make Yourself

As you make yourself up
and slip into your
prosthetic tenderness,
you seem to wonder if
the words that you've
dressed yourself in
will sufficiently cover up
your afflicted skin.

within your reflection
lies a longing for endearment.
riveted,
you search for
some type of sentiment,
any sort of connection
between yourself
and the water
as you cast your gaze
my way,
with obvious lament.

if only
for one
corrosive
moment.

i break
under the pressure
you so methodically apply,
then retract,
regarding your glare
with the baring of my
barbed-wire smile

you see the sheen of my
enigmatic grin,
but fail to realize
the keen edges
lacerating
and slicing within.
its practically
painless
compared to the anguish
you hide
within your made-up language
and synthetic skin.