There is no such thing as red lipstick any more. It has to have a name, a sexy name-- a voluptuous, vulgar or vivid name. You can be sultry, seductive, sassy or sinful with your lipstick these days. Shed the primary colors, your lipstick has to have emotion and be reviving, revolutionizing, pouty or powerful. It can be a cheater, a princess, innocent or captivating. You can be anything you want to be with the right lip color.
Ruby Red Lips poem and painting was born from a tube of lipstick bearing that name. It is a semi-autobiographical piece about sexual violence. Other inspiration includes the second verse of 'I'm Just a Country Boy' by Don Williams (as sung by Allison Krauss) and the following scripture verses from the Bible.
Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
Job 11:5-6 NIV
Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against you. Job 15:6 NIV
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. Job 8:21 NIV
Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
Psalm 51:15 NIV
My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you— I, whom you have delivered. My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion.
Psalm 71:23-24 NIV
The verses are lifted from the life of Job who had a season of intense suffering as well as the Psalms that chronicle Jesus' future suffering. The psalms are primarily the songbook and poetry of David, who was often pursued by his enemies. These writings are my personal psalms of God's deliverance after my painful experiences behind the woodshed, as it were.