High heels on
Mouth pouts with red lipstick
She’s getting ready
For her next trick

Black liner
A hint of eyeshadow
She blushes her cheeks
As she takes a swallow

“Not again,”
She mouths to herself
“this is the last time,
I’m done being stealth.”

She’s standing in the mirror
That is surrounded by brass
Only lingerie and heels on
While holding an empty wine glass

“Why do you do this?
Why do you treat yourself this way?”
It’s a repeated question
That she asks everyday

She struts to her closet
And eyes the dress
This is the one
That will make a man caress

She slips on the satin
That zips in the back
Runs her hand down her hips
To smooth out the slack

She grabs her clutch and scarf
Heads to her front door
She grips the door knob
“I can’t do this no more!”

She fights and fights
The urge to open the door
The addiction to control
the addiction of being a whore

Tears run down her face
Steams of black liner
She kicks her heels off
And the dress that binds her

She runs to her sink
Scrubs off the palette of colors
That painted her face
This is the beginning of valor

“This is where it ends!”
She can’t give anymore
Her body hurts
As well her mind, heart and soul

She runs a hot bath
Adds a few bubbles
Tip toes her feet in
In hopes to immerse away her troubles

Every inch of her body
Is roughly washed with soap
She’s scrubbing away all the men
All the parts that were groped

She lay in the tub
She stared at the ceiling
Lessened the grip of the porcelain
Sinking in water felt freeing

She rubs the mirror dry
The steam is thick
Looks deeply at herself
And says, “No more tricks!”

This is it
She’s made her decision
This has unlocked the weight
She was carrying in her prison

“I’ll…I’ll start a new life
And go see a shrink.”
She’s convincing herself
“The doctor will find the missing link”

She’ll be free from the guilt
Free from the pain
Free from this life
Which has caused her shame