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Previous Post
Next Post
Sep 28
poetry
ZoeBee

I am not beautiful

If you're asked to describe me
Don't you dare say beautiful
Beautiful has stained my skin and bruised the apples of my cheeks enough
Beautiful has shut me up and laid me down 
Beautiful tells her that her mouth is for smiling and opening but never 
For speaking
Yelling
Demanding
If you need to describe me
And I hear one adjective
One adjective you could use to describe a small white dog
Yappy, cute, energetic, endearing, sweet, agreeable, feisty
Fiesty is not a name for a person
It's an unnamed untamed horse loose in a Montana meadow
And when you write paragraphs about me
Do not mention the carefully curated shine of my hair
Do not say that my hips curved like mountains or how my eyes sparkled like sapphires
If you are asked to describe me talk about
The fire in my words
The creaky tones of my voice and how I would stutter
Talk about how in ninth grade I slapped a boy for calling me a bitch
Talk about how I am needy and confusing and smart and well-read and creative and dramatic and bossy and loud
Metnion my face without mentioning my lips
Write about my strong, scarred hands without mentioning their softness
Sum up my body without using a simile and mention my love life, not just who I slept with
So when you're asked to describe me
Don't you dare say beautiful
  • ZoeBee's blog
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Posted: 09.28.21
About the Author: ZoeBee
Zoe
MSG / CONTACT
RECENT LOVES
  • Not Enough
  • 354 Bricks
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RECENT COMMENTS
  • Thank you :)
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  • I appreciate that so much,
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  • Thank you!

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Discussion

Comments

  1. thistle_and_sprout
    Sep 29, 2021

    You're powerful. You're strong.

    Jynx-Hecate
    They/Them

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  1. ZoeBee
    Sep 29, 2021

    So are you

    Zoe

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  1. Stargirl
    Sep 29, 2021

    This is one of my new favorite poems now :)

    ( I think I made you up inside my head )

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  1. ZoeBee
    Sep 29, 2021

    Thank you, I like it too

    Zoe

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YWP is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists. We're based in Burlington, VT, and we welcome young creators from anywhere!
Young Writers Project | 47 Maple St., Suite 216 | Burlington, VT 05401
501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2006
Contact: Susan Reid, Executive Director: [email protected]; (802) 324-9538