Fifty shades of tears
and sixty shades of fear
a hundred thousand pounding heartbeats
a million yearning fingers clawing
dragging each another near.
She does not understand
nor accept the desire of theirs
but her aching, manic thoughts so frantic
convolutions near, and…
defensively, besmirching names of others
who strolled past or within her way,
she is determined to change, alter
she wishes not to bother with current affray
for this nonsense must be laid to rest
the desire of others so fabricated
based on her visual alterations,
the penny need not drop,
she’s already aware of the situation
she shall not be loved only for her shell,
accept her on both sunny days and storms,
and during explosive personal hells,
she’s a layered scene
so many levels to explore and delve
surprised or not, overwhelmed or underwhelmed.
© 2022 Lauren M. Hancock Poetry and Prose
Artwork: KELLEPICS on Pixabay
Author’s note: This was written for “fifty shades of tears” from June prompts by @bruisedwaye on Instagram. 🙂
Lauren M. Hancock Poetry and Prose 
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