Beautiful Through Her Eyes

I look in the mirror

I see nothing but the lines

That run up and down my thighs

The way that my skin has stretched

The way that my stomach flows over

The rim of my jeans

I run my fingers over the bumps

That are scattered up and down my arms

My fingernails bitten

Only half of them present

My hair unwashed for days

The grease makes all my baby hairs stay down

I lift up my arms to inspect

As I see my triceps hang lifelessly

A smell creeps out from my under my arms

The lack of showers is apparent

All I see are my puffy eyes

Raw from the rubbing and the salty tears

That overflowed last night

My nose running and red from the constant

Wiping of a rough tissue

My forehead riddled with red dots

That I attempt to pick at

Until I hear a voice calling for me to stop

She says that my incessant picking will

Only make it worse

I don’t understand what the point is

Who cares if it looks worse

My forehead that is

The rest of my body is will go right along with it

She comes up behind me

So slender

So perfect

Her dark skin glowing in the dim light

She hugs me from behind

Her small but strong arms on my bare skin

Make me feel at home

I ask once again but lighter this time

What is the point

I am not beautiful

She presses her full lips onto my shoulder

And move her light kisses up and down

The bumps on my arms

She answers with you are so beautiful

Your full shape

Your soft body

Your big pink lips

Your tan skin

All beautiful to me

She rests her head on my shoulder from behind still

With her monologue at a close

I let a small smile show

I wonder why you have stayed with me

Through all these years

Through all this self-hatred

I asked her

And with that she looked at me straight in the eyes

Through our reflection on the mirror

And simply said

Because I love you