They told me beauty was a prize to chase
A shape to mold, a dream to face
That pretty meant less on my plate, less space to take, less to voice, less weight
I learned what made me “right” or “wrong”
what parts should shrink, and which one’s belong
And so I bent, I tried, I shrank
A fading echo, a hollow blank
At twelve, I wished to be unseen.
At fourteen I learned to lean on baggy clothes to hide my skin within
To tuck myself somewhere within
So sat down and learned the rules.
Took the lessons taught in school —
How to shrink and how to fade, To trade myself for love’s charade
But now I rise, unchain my voice, reclaim my soul, reclaim my choice.
No longer bounded by shallow lies. I find my wings.
I claim my skins for beauty is not pain or loss, not lines we’re told we cannot cross
It’s fire and light, fierce and free,
And I am more than what you see
