The Mirror
2021
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
That is why I can never understand why you pinch your sides
Your nails clawing at flabby skin
Your lips pulling into a deep frown
One that leaves creases of stress
between your eyebrows
You gaze upon your imperfections
Through glassy eyes
Scars on your legs
Hair on your arms
How your eyes aren’t bright enough to be blue
Not sweet enough to be brown
You look at me and see only your reflection
One that you hate
The one that tells you to cry
And be bitter about your rejection
You shake your fist at the sky
As if you aren’t exactly as God intended for you to be
Tears spill down your chubby cheeks
And you look away
I grow old under these questioning looks
Am I ugly?
Will I be lovely?
Do not grab my faded frame until the world sways
For I cannot teach you how to
Love.
If not you, who will?
They cry
My world tips on its axis and I fall
Onto my side
You crouch near me and whisper
Your first unhappiness
If only you could see what I do
That the world is cruel
But there is only perfection
In you.
Alessia (class of 2026) is a passionate and dedicated writer.