at the gym
the scale
doesn’t need to change

young women
their inner thoughts
become ink stains

biting into a cheeseburger
freedom drips down her chin
ketchup...catch up

talking with friends
no longer afraid
that they're sizing you up

pinching her
bony hips
in the dark

the words
finally strike her:
I. Am. Me.

from the darkness of the grotto
she looks up
to watch the rowers pass

my Beauty
doesn’t come
from a bottle

If you only look skin deep,
You’ll never see,
All that you are

light shining through
shows the beauty
inside and out

the scars of hate still stain her thighs
but today she smiles into the mirror

The bedroom mirror
She learns to love
Her reflection

crying
from their hateful words
she tells him he’s loved

dive deep
beauty
sank within

a love/hate relationship
his happiness
weighted in food

she brushes back her hair
all her reflection shows
is hate

sweeping branch of mahogany
the curve
of my hip

everywhere she looks
she finds
....beauty

others say plus-size
she only sees
beautiful strength

searching
she finds the beauty
in her eyes

The mirror
doesn’t lie
my eyes do

I’m human
no matter
my size

The whole world
beautiful
when she smiles

face your fear
let your beauty
come out

Perfectly happy
she eats from the carton
October moon

typical response
for you
to be like me

In the mirror
she focuses on
what really matters

looking inside
shows happiness
to everyone

scrawled across the sidewalk
words of love left behind
for the ones scared to love themselves

pondering beauty
while she
counts the calories

what to see
beauty
eyes of me

in my car
she talks of food
like an old enemy

in the mirror
look
at your greatness