What is beauty?

I ask myself
While I look at the reflection of my skin
My body that tends to become the centre of attention
The marks it leaves
When it stretches
Makes me wonder why my mind keeps begging for redemption

Why is it so hard?
Why is it so hard to accept the love I give to others?
Preaching about body positivity
Became my own agenda
But I can’t recall the dates when I
Wasn’t my own offender
As if being worthy of love has a particular size
As if I have no right
To immerse myself in love
Because of the cellulite the sunlight highlights

What is beauty?
I ask myself again
While I look at the reflection of my skin
My body that is the centre of attention
The marks it leaves
When it stretches
Makes me wonder why I’ve never looked at myself with satisfaction

Perhaps I am too afraid to take up space
Too ashamed to show love to the body that deserves every grace Too influenced
By the beauty standards that have been shoved in my face
Too many ‘you’re not fat, you’re beautiful’
Why does getting better equal losing your beauty?
Getting brainwashed by society that being a smaller size is a duty
Truly,

I shouldn’t care
I shouldn’t determine my worth by the size of the pants I wear
I shouldn’t love myself any less
Just because I am more
More to love,
More to feel,
More to capture
And so much more I could be
So what is beauty you may ask me?

Beauty is loving yourself unconditionally
And that includes
The parts you wish the world could never see
That includes
The body you began to love less
Because of the unrealistic standards you forced yourself
To unconsciously believe in.