she paints an image of herself –
all flaws gone, erased from reality:
blissful heaven and ecstasy are all that are left.
brushes away her transgressions,
her fears and regrets.
sadness overpowered by a layer of cyan.

she is happy at this moment,
and the stroke after that,
and the stroke after that – i hope.
she is her own goddess – creator of beauty –
maker of paradise –
mother of thin, crowded jet-black lines.

every tint of ink, a new creation;
a bridge to herself;
a mirror of herself.
she is the artist striving for perfection.
every hour she batters herself.
every hour she compares herself.

aiming for the stars and beyond,
but she only fools herself –
for she is perfection.