Portrait of a Prostitute By Jasen Sousa

Portrait of a Prostitute


Not the pimp, and not the participant,
only the painter who captured a scene
of a girl wondering where her life went,
a profession that began at fifteen.
Not trying to add, but remove color,
erasing the bruises around her eyes
from different men who told her they love her,
and the shadowy tears from when she cries.
Swollen feet, twenty-four hours on heels,
layers of makeup to cover her pain.
Exposes parts, true beauty not revealed,
deep in my heart her image will remain.
My portrait of a prostitute I knew,
the most somber picture I ever drew.




Taken From
Humming Eternity By Jasen Sousa (Written During Emerson College Era)
©