,

Powdered Promises

Woman in a dark robe looking at her reflection in an ornate mirror

Powdered Promises

a poem

“Just one last time,” I whisper—then pretend,

As though a promise guarantees an end;

I reach again for something sweet and brief,

A borrowed hour disguised to look like relief.

It gathers me beneath its velvet haze,

And hushes every hurt for several days;

For one small while, the noise inside grows still,

And I mistake that silence for free will.

The mirror keeps the truths I leave unsaid—

These weighted eyes, these mornings filled with dread;

My trembling hands betray the calm I feign,

While every vow comes circling back again.

“Just one last time”—the phrase I know by heart,

A little lie that always plays its part;

And if my mother asks, just tell her when—

I’m sorry, Mom. I broke my word again.

“Just one last time”—the phrase I know by heart,
A little lie that always plays its part;

from “Powdered Promises”

— “Powdered Promises” by Kiana Jimenez · Poetic Bipolar Mind · poeticbipolarmind.com —

© 2026 Kiana Jimenez


Discover more from Poetic Bipolar Mind

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Discover more from Poetic Bipolar Mind

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

  • Still Standing, Still Rising: “The Thing I Am When I Rise” — Substack Issue #3

    Still Standing, Still Rising: “The Thing I Am When I Rise” — Substack Issue #3

    October asks harder questions than the summer did. Issue #3 of the Poetic Bipolar Mind Substack, “The Thing I Am When I Rise,” is Kiana Jimenez writing through the season anyway — a reflection on the mind’s old negotiations with the dark, and a poem written just for the issue about being the storm and…

  • For the Small Hours: “What the Night Keeps” — Substack Issue #2

    For the Small Hours: “What the Night Keeps” — Substack Issue #2

    Most people surrender the small hours. Issue #2 of the Poetic Bipolar Mind Substack, “What the Night Keeps,” was written for the ones who can’t — the minds that won’t rest, counting the hours like old wounds while the house sleeps. It pairs a short reflection on belonging to the night with a poem written…

  • Where It All Began: “Where Darkness Learns to Speak” — Substack Issue #1

    Where It All Began: “Where Darkness Learns to Speak” — Substack Issue #1

    Before the books, before the website, there was a blog called Temperamental Mental Soup — anonymous, because she wasn’t ready to be seen yet. Issue #1 of the Poetic Bipolar Mind Substack, “Where Darkness Learns to Speak,” is where Kiana Jimenez tells that story out loud: how a hidden blog became Poetic Bipolar Mind, and…

☾ Browse Categories & Realms ✦