Self Portrait

            Self-Portrait

            If I were to paint myself

            the hues would speak of pain

            Doused in red and black,

            crimson ire soaking

            the bed sheets of the mind

            with sorrowful cries

            Blended with narcissistic cacophony

            in  ears too shadow-filled to hear

            Lies and guilt overshadow

            the face, with lines too deep to care

            The canvas is tarred and mold-ridden

            from nicotine stains and a tired heart

            The hands burnt red from caught colds,

            staring naked, stripped of pride

            The eyes, a pitiful stare off into the abyss,

            which never cares to stare back

            The mouth, a lost child prying

            lips open, hoping to speak

            The hair, tangled with four

            regretted seasons, locked to the sky

Adam Levon Brown

Adam Levon Brown is an internationally published poet and author in 14 countries. He has had his work translated in Spanish, Albanian, Arabic, and Afrikaans. Boasting over 300 published pieces, you can find his writing at such publications as Burningword Literary Journal, Firefly Magazine, Zany Zygote Review, Epigraph, Angel City Review, and Ariel Chart. He was long-listed in the 2016 Erbacce Prize poetry competition and received a special mention in the Pangolin Prize 2018 competition.