Red Dust/ 红尘

red dust

a perfect name
for a brand of cosmetics.

you have been reincarnated ad nauseam
gathering so much wind
and dust in your long  sleeves

the time has come to
shake it all off

the time has come
to
wear the many centuries of
heartbreaks,
betrayals
and lust

on
your face

red dust

the nickname I have given
to that pair of stilettos
I bought the day after I met you
to mark the beginning of the long march
through the wasteland of
love,
passion
too quickly
displaced
by ennui.

like all pilgrims
who do not know if
they will arrive
in time
before they lose their religion
I thought I could use
some glamorous
footwear.

red dust

an alias for an emotion that has no name
that sudden flush of colour

was it shame?
or shyness?
or perhaps a brush with anger
mixed with a tinge of guilt?

red dust

only one thing
I know for sure

from red dust I came
and to red dust I shall return