They say beauty is painful
And so I convinced myself
The more pain I felt, the more beautiful I would become
So I pulled each hair from my eyebrows, from my legs
Until my follicles wailed in discomfort
I speared each pimple
Until my skin screamed in agony
I hid from food
Until my stomach, which had roared in misery, went numb
I sliced the layers of skin from my wrists
Telling myself
That if I removed every part of me
I would finally be beautiful
But as I stood before myself
Lost and terrified
I realized the truth
I wouldn’t be beautiful
Until I loved myself