As a pre-teen, I avoided nakedness as much as any other would.

My body was not what I had imagined it would become.

I had mounds of fat that sagged from my sides that caused brown straight marks to form along my lower back

My arms less then desirable.

My legs close together, and misshapen

My chocolate exterior.

It held a bitterness that made me no longer wish to wear a dashiki with pride.

Mirrors only tell the truth.

Honest Abe, they do not comprehend deceit.

They bring my multicultural identity to the light

I wince at the sight of my chest.

Dare I say the garbage that lies on the side of road displays more beauty than I

I cannot breathe.

I turn away in a panic, hoping when I turn to face the screen, the channel will have been changed.

As I look back on myself at such a young age I can only feel pity.

Naïve and foolish I could only look on the surface.

Bodies, vessels of human spirit

Here to only carry us from point A to point B, I realize, I am beautiful.

Not because of my body, but because of me.

This world is a room of mirrors but with smoke as a fine coating.

Magazines keep me in line and I step back to let the gorgeous have their place in font.

This is no longer me, I know what I deserve.

Validation is no longer needed. I sport confidence,

I wear it as if it were a new pair of shoes,

Guiding in the direction I need to go.

It is my new best friend

Her and I travel and learn from each other from day to day.

A relationship that should have been realized a long time ago.

Today I look in the mirror

And expect to see something else.

But mirrors only tell the truth.

Honest Abe, they do not comprehend deceit.

They only tell the truth

And the truth is, I’m beautiful.