I picked up a lipstick and buried it
In my dirty old coat
Which I couldn’t replace
Till I started bagging groceries
That was the first time
I planned on being invincible
And cruel
I shed a layer of being,
Scraped off the plastic wrap
Painting my lips in the mirror
of my humble home,
A flat with dust and one fighting parent

Licking it off my pre-teen teeth
My reflection grinning loudly for me, alone
How much have you
Lived outside the law?
Under, above, behind, ahead of
You can still vote
And get makeup for free
A little secret

In case you have none

I can cheat the system
But you’re not the system
I can’t steal you
And paint you all over me
Shooting for beauty
When I grin too wide

The law, a contract
Human bonds, a gamble