Affliction drives her hardened heart’s intent <br />While pity masks the mysteries of her truth <br />And comforts her with mutated hope. <br /> <br />She contemplates the days gone by, <br />When the luster of her countenance, <br />Concealed the frailty of her dreams. <br />And visions of escape assail her crowded mind <br />To suppress the swelling of her fears <br />And adulterate the bitter taste of her soul. <br /> <br />She veils herself in the coolness of a dampened cloth <br />And breathes… <br /> <br />Then she paints her face to cover up her shame <br />And stuffs the undergarments of her soiled life <br />Inside a tattered sack. <br /> <br />She labors for the door, <br />And hears the stumbling of his graceless steps. <br />As she nears the threshold of her sovereignty, <br />She’s tempted by the tease of no return. <br />Convinced that someday she could learn <br />To somehow love herself. <br /> <br />He smiles at her in the bliss of his oblivion <br />And knows that she’ll be back.<br /><br />M. Richard Smith<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/afflicted/
