i know your mirror is your guilty comfort
and your worst enemy

i know your fingertips brush the glass
as if it is to be worshipped
and to be feared

i know your eager mind craves a counting down of numbers
on the weighing scale, as if each kilogram
is a weight lifted off your chest

i know you can lose yourself in that labyrinth
of measuring tape and small waists and big expectations
of mirror shards and makeup and meticulosity

but do you know that
you are nature?

there is the night sky in your hair;
the moon, she dangles in the curve of your ears,
her constellations flung across your cheekbones

there is the sun in your skin, fire-gold and blinding bronze;
his warmth shines in your radiant smile,
his light dances in your honey-brown eyes

and the way you move, that is the forest, did you know?
sparrow wings shape your collarbones,
the fox lends you his easy charm
the deer gifts you her swift grace

so my dear,
remember you are more than measurements,
for you are from nature herself:
and no ordinary numbers can describe
the beauty of unparalleled creation