Alone with the mirror,
You stare into your eyes;
You look better than you thought;
Then you suddenly don’t;
You sigh.
Alone with the mirror,
You shine your teeth and stick out your tongue,
Run through your hair and push up your *****;
You try a few dances you saw on TV,
But you kind of ****.
Alone with the mirror,
You wish the eye bags weren’t there—
Your face would have been just perfect.
So you pout in a way that hides them;
Then you take selfies.
Alone with the mirror,
You practice what you’ll say tonight:
“You’re great and I like you but not just like that.”
With a smile you say, “Can we still be friends?”
You know this sounds terrible so you practice five other ways to say it.
Alone with the mirror,
You realize you are who you are,
And there’s not much you can do
But embrace it.
first published by Brittle Paper.