Dear future daughter...
Don't listen to the other girls who say you're not enough,
and please don't ever allow them to push you to give up.
You are worth much more than anything in existence,
and if anyone cannot see that, they are full of ignorance.

Dear future daughter...
Nobody is ever going to save you,
but your own strength and courage will see you through
all of life's obstacles thrown on your path throughout,
and you will survive it all, I have no doubt.

Dear future daughter...
Your mental health comes before anything else baby,
forget school, you have to put yourself first young lady.
Curl up with a good book and ice-cream galore,
until you feel better and your happiness you can restore.

Dear future daughter...
Boys or girls - whatever your preference,
will break your heart - just for future reference.
Love isn't the be-all and end-all in your world,
even if that is the belief that has been furled.

Dear future daughter...
It's okay if your thighs touch and your tummy isn't perfect,
please remember you are a person and not an object.
You are still so beautiful, embrace your imperfections.
Please notice the beauty in the mirror through your reflections.

Dear future daughter,
Ignorance is not bliss; study and work hard.
Do not allow your perception of learning to become marred.
Value your education - it's the most priceless thing you'll receive,
think of all the things that you alone could achieve.

Dear future daughter...
Don't ever dumb yourself down for a relationship or to "fit in".
Don't ever allow anyone to change you - being yourself is the way to win.
Always be who you are and stand for what you believe in,
speak your mind, help those with no voice and be comfortable in your own skin.

Dear future daughter...
Cherish the little things,
all the beautiful gifts life brings,
you'll soon realise that they were the things that mattered
once the moment has passed - but it's too late - I'm sure you gathered.

Dear future daughter...
These are the things I wish I'd been taught,
Instead I learned the hard way - a life marked by fraught.

I looked at the time, it was seven o'clock,
we were having a party and I was in my best frock.
We were partying away - my friends and I -
dancing around in the moonlit sky.

Drinking away I was starting to feel funny,
when my friend Harry said to me "come in, honey".
Drunk, I followed - I trusted him dearly.
He was going to look after me, I could see it clearly.

But soon I found out that he actually wanted me,
and as he got on top of me, darkness was all I could see.
He lifted up my dress and pulled down my knickers,
and as he did what he had to do, all I could taste in my mouth were liquors.

I told him "no" and told him to stop fiercely,
but instead he carried on and laughed in my ear harshly.
He ****** himself deeper inside,
as he chose to ignore my cries.

I couldn't push him off, he was too heavy,
all colour drained from my face and I began to feel empty.
He was high on drugs and alcohol fuelled,
and he carried on throughout the night until he was fulfilled.

The next day I woke up ****** and feeling *****,
I was covered in bruises and I was full of worry.
My lipstick was smeared and my hair full of knots,
and on my body there were scratches - lots and lots.

Now I'm sitting here three months on,
I've been dealing with this pain alone for far too long.
I swallow the hundreds of pills I've saved up,
and wash them down with alcohol from the drinking cup.

How satisfying and sublime it is to know
that each wrinkle deep rooted on your face is to show
each of life's wonderful and more difficult points in time wherein
our moments of laughter, tears and frowns are ingrained in our skin -
marks of life and a sign of a beautiful soul within
who has truly experienced life to it's fullest form -
a person who knows existence can be a violent storm.

I gave you all the power to destroy and **** me,
and piece by piece you mutilated me to debris.
You left more than a bad taste on my tongue;
and you forced stories within me to go unsung.

While I held onto your toxicity I failed to grow,
but once I'd fled your ghastly hold, I began to glow.
I stopped being a **** and grew my petals,
I blossomed into a beautiful flower while you remained a stinging nettle.

Now the tastes of alcohol and cigarettes no longer
remind me of you in the way they once did. No, I'm stronger.
The things you did to me are memories that have stained,
but I will not let you define who I am; by you I will no longer be drained.

It took months of keeping you safe from your demons
to understand that your manipulation deepens
so while I was busy saving you from Hell,
you were pushing me further to it; the poison murdering me well.

Think of the true beauty in the world,
where you find that artistry doesn't need to fit expectations that have been furled.

I find mine in captivating laughter of babies; which reduces me to tears,
not those of sadness or melancholy - but of overwhelm as their giggles enter my ears,
because there is nothing more exquisite than the mere notion of existing and of life,
the feelings of love and hope in my heart are strife.

What about beauty in those who refuse to give up, ever?
I often wonder how in the world people grow such seraphic strength within and keep it forever!
They get knocked down over and over again,
yet time after time they get back up, pushing aside their pain.

These elegant people keep moving forward - some have no choice,
but they prove the only way is up and they do not waste their time; instead they have an active voice.
They are inexplicably unstoppable,
and are the true essence of beauty - and are in fact unbreakable.

Or what about the beauty of fate?
The pulchritude of chance encounters await.
That moment when you meet someone special and become star-crossed lovers,
and recognise you both have an exceptional purpose; and a connection that hovers.
A time when your eyes lock and your souls connect?
The magnificence in these bespoke experiences *****.
To share your journey in another's grace,
and get to encounter their beautiful embrace.