This work was written with the idea that poetry should be universal and relatable. Often, one can learn more about their problems through other people’s stories. We hope you will enjoy finding that you can indeed relate to this poem, and thereby feel a little lighter today 🙂
Author: Mila Bucureci (ES Tallinn)
I look in the mirror and see myself,
But I hear tiny voices that drown my own.
One says my smile isn’t pretty enough,
Another says my face isn’t symmetric enough,
And together they laugh — I’ll never be her.
They argue and argue,
trying to decide which flaw makes me uglier,
but they can’t agree.
I try to quiet them with makeup,
with pretending,
but they don’t go away.
Insecurities multiply –
I fix one thing, another breaks.
I pretend not to care,
but they grow louder and louder,
until I can’t hear myself.
I’ll never be her –
the perfect pretty,
the one everyone imagines when they say “perfect.”
But even she isn’t free.
Her voices are loud too,
and she hides them,
until one day she can’t look in the mirror either.
Then they quiet-
too late-
leaving only silence
and the memory
of their laughter.
Coverimage by: Artie Navarre from Pixabay
Edited by: Laura Somma
