No matter how easy it might be
to find your worth in acccomplishments, intelligence, or beauty

That's just not where it lies
there your value isn't tied

because it is imeasureable, infathomable
and
YOU
ARE
BEAUTIFUL

The girl next to me
is all I wish I could be
I look at her and say, "you look pretty"
What I know that she can't see
is the building jealousy

the constant tugging at my waist
my demons trying to pull me down face to face
trying to make myself smile without leaving a trace
saying my words that are heavy and laced
with hatred for my temple,
my place

The society that I live in
has taught me I have to hate my own skin
I need to to be thin
in order to win

Instead of looking at my sister with admiration
I look at her with damnation
because i've been taught by the people in my nation
society will never cause cessation
to the standards givin to us

I will never again feel elation.
Because being happy takes up too much time.
Takes up too much power.
Takes up too much attention.
And causes me to not focas on my calorie consumption.

she was always
mediocre
from the minute she was born.
absolutely average in every way.
she was the middle child
always trying to mediate
big brother and little sister
stuck in the middle.
she loved the theatre
yet she was always a small role
always in the show, never a lead,
perfectly average.
smart, but not first in her class
just above
average.
average build, average athlete,
average personality,
average person.
and as she set expectations for herself,
her average-ness
crushed her
and she wanted to be
Perfect.

When letters wait
to pounce on a blank page
when thoughts crowd the mind
like frothing **** in a pond
I keep wondering
what poetry is to me
what poetry is to many

Is it not the language of the heart
with no intervention of gray matter
the unlocking of closed vaults
stirring the embers of love, hurt or pain
or giving a free rein to fancy
and flying on magic carpets
to lands forlorn

Sometimes it is
a glide into a sea of tranquillity
an escape from
the humdrum of the world
a flash of liberation
from assaults of pain
a sedative
to numb the turmoil
a sanctuary
for a burdened heart
a window
to look at the world through
a companion
when one is inconsolably alone
a candle flame
in a darkening world
a cloth line
to hang the ***** laundry
a water lily blooming
in the pool of tears
a shelter
in homelessness

sometimes it is a ladder
to climb up to Heavens
an angel on wings
with tidings of hope
peace in a world
braced for war

Poetry, if you are all these
let us fall at your feet
bless us in our art
may we splurge in fancy
and conjure up worlds from words!

our poems may not be light houses
but could be fireflies
on a starless night!