Once upon a time,
A girl grew up being told that she had “such a pretty face.”
Only her face
Because her tummy was rounded like the edge of an apple
And her thighs jiggled back and forth as she walked
You couldn’t see bones poking through thin skin
And her arms were full and meaty
But her face - it was beautiful
A perky little nose that twitched as she spoke
And high risen cheekbones with a heart shaped face
Her skin was like milk, her complexion - tan and rosy
With pursed, full cherry red lips
And her bright twinkling blue eyes were the second thing people noticed
The first of course, being her figure
But my, my what a pretty face!
They always said that her mother
looked good for her age
But she didn’t look good
Because she had loose, flappy skin and stretchmarks on her tummy
Her once big, beautiful, lion’s mane blonde hair was riddled with grays which she tried desperately to conceal
Her skin was peppered with blotchy, coffee colored sunspots
And her forehead had fine lines which wrinkled more when she spoke
But for her age, she looked good
Her body was strong and lean - she starved for it
And many vials of botox attempted to keep her smile lines under control
The stitches in front of her ears pulled her skin back like a mask
And her bathroom was filled with little white and blue bottles labeled “anti aging” and “miracle serum”
And the frown constantly plastered on her face was the second thing people noticed
The first of course, being her age
For her age though, she looked good
And her best friend was always told
How beautiful she was
Never anything else
Because her long, slender legs reached to the sky
And her bouncing black curls were never frizzy, always perfectly twisted in place
Her dark mocha colored skin was soft and untouched by flaw’s hand
And her curves were perfectly proportioned to her impossibly tiny waist
They didn’t notice that she loved to read books about magical fantasy worlds
Or that she went to therapy after school on Tuesday
They didn’t notice that she was insecure and shy
Or that she didn’t like to go to parties or dates with boys and other such pretty girl things
Her personality was always the second thing people noticed
The first of course, being her beauty
Where did we go wrong?
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