PoemsBrowse PoemsSlamsFresh DropEchoes
LearnWriting TipsPoetry TermsPoets & ArtistsBooksFor Teachers
ExplorePoetry GenomePoem MapEchoesTake ActionGroups
AboutWrite a PoemDonateSign UpLog In

What Is Beauty?


What is beauty?

The answer has alluded us for years,

The question creeps into every little girl's fears.

"Am I good enough?" they think, teetering on the brink.

Thinking they may fall when they see all their flaws in a mirror on the wall.

Because if you live for acceptance you will die by rejection,

So now we find ourselves back to this question,

 

What is beauty?

Let me tell you that beauty is not photo-shopped pictures on the covers of magazines,

Telling girls who they are supposed to be.

Society's definition of beauty has changed a lot, I mean,

Look at it this way,

Little girls used to pretend to be princesses,

Now they're teenagers and they just pretend be perfect.

If they don't reach society's standards they may feel worthless,

Maybe these words can give them the strength to be individuals in a world of conformists.

We don't need to conform to the patterns of this world,

Not to be seen as beautiful.

Beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder but if your beholder is doubt,

I guarantee it will always drag you down.

You will never be good enough in their eyes,

So please don't take heed to their beautiful lies,

You never needed to put on a clever disguise.

The definition of beauty is much simpler than it seems,

You. You are beautiful.

Yeah, I know that it seems impossible to believe but you are.

Forget about what you may think about yourself,

Because there is more to beauty.

Beauty is in the heart,

So think about that the next time you call yourself ugly.

I’m saying these words because they need to be said,

There are kids out there who wished they were dead.

That is because they listened to everything this world showed them,

I know this because I used to be just like them.

I was once a kid who listened to no one but his doubts and fears,

My dreams were robbed away by the words of my peers.

But when I couldn’t find beauty in myself I picked up a pen and I created beauty,

Words can make hatred all that you feel,

But believe when I saw that words can also heal.

That is why I wrote this down,

There are people who see nothing but darkness and they’re about to drown.

It’s hard to go on when you can’t see the beauty in yourself,

I know that because my biggest flaw is that I cannot ask for help.

The worst feeling is feeling like you don’t belong in a world of people built of sticks and stones,

If you don’t reach their impossible standards you are left all alone,

But the truest thing I can tell you is that you are never on your own.

 

What is beauty?

Beauty is what you make it,

Because sometimes the thing about yourself others find ugly is what gives you beauty.

So no matter what this dark world tries to tell you,

No matter what cosmetics companies try to sell you,

You are beautiful just the way you are.

©All Rights Reserved

Something wrong with this poem?

Submitted to a slam

“Slam Against Bullying”

Share

Replies are closed for this poem.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988, 24/7. Crisis Text Line — text HELLO to 741741.

David L. Hawkins III

A Christian poet and victim of bullying. Through my writing I hope to shine my own light through this dark world we live in.

View all poems →

Your Poem's Voice

See what makes your poem unique — its voice, energy, themes, and the literary traditions it draws from.

Comments (1)

nellie621
<p>I love your poem, it&#39;s beautiful. :)</p>

Comments are closed for this poem.