Not enough!!

When I was a child
Just like a million other soft-cheeked
pink-lipped babies since the start of time
I was asked by my loving mother and father
And dotting grandparents, to smile for them

And still a fledgling to society
I quickly succumbed to the desire to please
Spread my rosy lips
To show the world my pearly white teeth

Now clearly I didn’t have curly hair
Neither was I very fair
My eyes definitely weren’t blue
But I was told brown was lovely too
Because when I’d smile, my face seemed to sing
“I’ve got sunshine, on a cloudy day
When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the sun of May”

But as the fledgling saw the world anew
Darkness covered all feathers but a few
And sharp claws instead of soft nails grew

I was now asked to look skinnier
Angles of my face checked for how I’d look hotter
Yet dumped by my boyfriend because the other woman looked prettier

I was told to be smarter
My one-liners had to be funnier
But was shunned by boys because I wasn’t just a little bit sluttier

I had to let my hair down to appear chiller
Told that my glasses made me seem nerdier
Yet when I took them off, was asked to try harder

Compared to those billboards I looked like a loser
An ugly swan with no hope for the future
No mirrors in my house, because I just couldn’t bear to see her

Because the girl who looked back was always bewitched, bothered and bewildered
Trying to find herself but never seeing the real her
Painted by labels, not one of them familiar

Wanting to step out of her skin but constantly hindered
By pictures in magazines and these dimensions which never ever fit her
Always comparing with bodies much fairer

But there is only so much that rouge can hide
And she would know
Because believe me she’s tried

Armed with blades and knives against this fight
Weapons which did her more wrong than right