Home Within
By Naya Dukkipati, 18, Texas
We look at others
Not with a gaze
but an analytical eye
Focusing on the curvatures of the body
The glow of the skin
The sheen of the hair
The way they carry themselves
We do this not to admire
But to see the flaws we see in ourselves
To find the glimpses of insecurities the mirror shows us
and capture that hateful stare and redirect it to another
As our hands glide down our arms
and tug our skin
and glide through our hair
We try to hold ourselves tightly
to forget the painful years
and judgmental stares
When circulation comes back
those light marks fade
Our eyes become a microscope
and we do it day by day
Until those marks stay
Hidden under the skin
Held together by the mirror’s tears
To be the girl we saw on the street
To be the girl we want the mirror to see
But when we realize that the body was not an image to be captured
Or looked at by anyone but ourselves
We wish that body was loved and cherished for what it holds
because there was something strong within to be called home
Body image is a continuous struggle that girls face due to images we are exposed to and beauty standards we are challenged with. I wanted to write a poem that captures this idea, so I can help girls realize that their body is not an image.
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