sometimes i pretend
as i am looking in a mirror that i am meeting myself for the very first time

i notice the way that
my hair waves as it falls down my shoulders
and curls around my face
it looks like the vines that grow up and down
the sides of my house
the vines that i love

and i take note of the
little scars dotted around my face from when my fingers
just couldn’t keep themselves away
i look at them now
and realize that they look like little mountains
and constellations
two things that are known for their beauty

i look at my eyes, my eyebrows, my nose that has been told
that it is too big,
my arms and my elbows,
my stomach and my thighs, all the way down to my toes
and i remember:
there is beauty in the unique

and so i stick my hand out to shake
and i say,
hello, it is nice to meet you. you look beautiful today and i love you.

and my hand grasps it and says back,
hello, it is nice to meet you. you look beautiful today, and i think i could learn to love you too.