I stared at the mirror.
I stared back at me.
I saw myself.

I stared a while longer.
I saw each flaw.
My nose was curved the wrong way.
My ears were too small.
My eyes were the wrong shape and a weird color.
My face’s curves were too soft.
My mouth was too big
My teeth were too prominent.
My hips were too wide.
My shoulders were too broad.
My waist was not slim enough.
My legs were too long.
My arms were different sizes.
My reflection warped and squirmed uncomfortably.
I saw what I was
And I saw that
It was not ok.
And I saw that
I had become hideously ugly.

I stared a while longer.
I watched as
Every flaw,
Each detail I disliked
Told its own small story.
It was still not ok,
But I saw that that was ok.
And I saw that
All my flaws wove together and
I became beautiful.

I stared at the mirror
And I saw that
It didn’t matter
The mirror was not real.
The mirror was just another world.
It was only real to me
If I let it be.
I stared down the mirror
It shattered.
And I stared into those shards of what once was
But was no longer.
And I saw something new.
I saw each shard reflecting my smile.
It was beautiful.
I was beautiful.