Lipstick

It comes in a small, hand-held container,
a dial built into the bottom that forces more from the top
or brings it all back in to hide away until the next use.
Tubes that are all different shapes and varying in color
as much as the glaze it carts around.

There are colors upon colors to choose from:
soft, baby pinks and fierce reds,
shocking purples to blacks deeper than a moonless night.

Its uses go far beyond merely making the lips of women (and some men) pop,
also adding definition to cheekbones
and enhancing the colors of food advertised on television.

Some are stickier and tackier than others,
while some are wet throughout the wearing.
Others, of course, go on and stay on dry.

There are kinds that last for a less than a handful of hours without being tampered with,
while some are applied in layers,
clear coats being added to keep the vibrancy in place for what could be days—
like a car after having just been painted,
no dust having yet dimmed its dazzling surface.

It’s dramatic, beautiful, and is woman's ultimate warpaint.