I am a work of artifact

Humans made me this way

Shaped my body

Refined my manners

And then painted my face

Drew up a smile

Because happy is what I’m supposed to be

When I’m complimented on how

Pretty my make-up is

 

The hair on my head

Is artifact too

Because my hair’s not as long

As the girls whose eyes are blue

The only things real are the bumps on my cheek

But they’re covered by make-up

So those you can’t see

The scars on my legs are very real too

Scraped when playing “too rough”

Left to be criticized by you

 

When I’m discovered

For the public to see

And intellectuals find details and try to decode me

They’ll see

The paint on my face

To enhance my display

The shaping of my body

That ate me away

The restraints on my tongue

To impound my thoughts

A pile of decay

Where my artistry rots

Broken wings

That were stunted from growth

The misdirection, redirections, and lies

To keep me from knowing

 

This artifact

Will have people in awe

And won’t give them a clue

About who I was at all

So the things that they’ll know

Will be made up by lies

I am a work of artifact