Y.A.N.A Poem of the Day #2

Y.A.N.A
Poem of the Day #2

The Monster in the Mirror
By Heather

(Text version)

Every morning
I awake and look in the mirror.
Do you know what I see?
I see a short-legged,
Bed-headed,
Wonky-nosed,
Acne exposed,
Pale troll with belly rolls,
And I am not proud
Because I am not considered ‘beautiful’ enough
to fit into society’s standards.
So I spend hours preparing to go to a place I
don’t want to be,
But somehow this short-legged,
Bed-headed,
Wonky-nosed,
Acne exposed,
Pale troll with belly rolls,
Can’t get rid of the me
That I’m not supposed to be.
I go to school and see the
Cruel nasty glances because I am not ‘cool’.
And I ask my friends “How come you’re so
beautiful?”
They laugh as if I’m daft and say “You’re
beautiful too!”

But they don’t have a clue
That under the smiles is a juvenile short-legged
Bed-headed,
Wonky-nosed,
Acne exposed,
Pale troll with belly rolls,
Instead they tell me to try.
As if I haven’t tried to look behind the ugly
mask
That hides a cast
Of a possible personality that a ‘special
someone’ can’t resist,
But maybe they’d get the gist
If they saw the beauty checklist
That I can’t seem to tick
Because I’m not a long-legged,
Big-headed,
Button-nosed,
Ribcage-exposed,
Tanned beauty,
Who’s ignorant and snooty.
But I am the me
That I’m not ‘supposed’ to be,
And maybe that’s the me
That I want people to see.

(Taken from the upcoming book "You Are Not Alone: Poems by Young Volunteers")