‘Thirteen’ by Jennifer Matthews

Woman, I know you not.
– from ‘Mirror’ by Leanne O’Sullivan

Half your lifetime ago you loved
colouring landscapes with frantic suns
whose beams stretched down
to meet the palms
of stick figures. Shining, their smiles
grew bigger than their heads.

You’ve turned to finger paintings: 
self-portraits in darkening palettes
of Ibiza Sunset and Bronze Beauty.
Under a nest of teased hair
your brows are pencilled arches
like the birds you once drew,
sky-wheeling. Your Natural Glow
airbrushed legs cry streaks
down to the six inch spikes
boosting doe-legs up
to the young woman you hope to be.

Girl, your childhood is still showing.
The giveaway circles your muddied
kneecaps, resisting change:
a cream moat, a pale ring,
forgotten skin, the colour of you.

From issue #1: autumn/winter 2015

About the Author
Jennifer Matthews writes poetry and is founder and editor of Long Story, Short. Her work has been published in journals in the UK and Ireland. In 2015 she was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions series. Rootless, a chapbook, is out now from Smithereens Press. Follow her on Twitter at @JenMarieMa.