Home Remedies

It's after prayers and this lady saunters over to me

The new leader of our community

And asks

"What happened to your face?"

I give her a confused look

Is my make-up off a shade?

"You have a lot of pimples," she says, and gestures to her own face

As if the comparison might compel me to "fix" mine

I grit my teeth and reply with a nonchalant "Oh, I'm just stressed..."

While inside I burn with the light of a thousand candles and steam with the spicy smell of incense

Doesn't everyone have a mirror in their bathroom?

I hate looking in the mirror

I hate seeing my scars

The scars that will haunt my face until I am the one haunting

Mirrors do not flatter, nor do they compliment

Mirrors are cracked, demented illusions of reality

A virtual image of a psychotic surrealist's imagination

Bent and warped through over and again

Walking through each one, and morphing into something more hideous each time

The second lady was a family friend

She asked the same question

I'm just stressed

I'm just stressed

I'm just depressed

I'm just pressed

Pressure unleashed to be beautiful, to be perfect, to be flawless

As you list out 20 different home remedies, I wonder if you haven't thought that maybe I have tried them all

You tell me to drink water, because that will drain away every impurity

I stand in the rain, isn't that enough?

I have tried time and again, and again and timed how long it takes for just one to disappear from my face

With every chemical I lather on like lotion that sucks every drop of moisture from my face

My skin will peel until every layer has gone to reveal only my skull

And even then you will come and ask, "What happened to your face?"

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