One Day

One day she made a drawing

Of stick figures 

And called it me

Because that's what it was 

And her parents hung it 

On the fridge and called

Her their “beautiful little girl” 

And she played with everyone 

In her class

And she painted her

Room bright purple bounding 

Around the house and 

Forgetting to brush her hair 

Before going to bed at night.

One day she made a painting

Of her friend

And called it jealousy

Because that's what she felt 

And her teacher praised it so 

Her parents took her to get ice cream and let her 

Get a double scoop and she would 

Shyly approach her friends 

who sat in a rigid circle

Ignoring her parents who went to

Check on her in her blue room where she watched

Perfect people with pearly smiles on a screen 

And so she would scrub her teeth at night

Until they shined

One day she favorited a photo

Of herself 

Because her eyes gleamed

When her parents picked her up she 

stared at her phone and when they asked if 

She wanted ice cream she shook her head

Rushing to meet up with her friends to gossip about boys she 

Was scared to talk to and her room was muted and gray so 

She locked herself in there and painted on makeup 

Until she felt pretty

One day she posted a photo

In a tight dress

Because her boobs looked good 

And she did not call her parents who were a phone call away and when her friends 

Asked her if she wanted to go to dinner she made up an excuse staring at the 

Blank screen on her computer and she waited for another person to kiss her so she could 

Pretend to feel loved and her room was a mess because she did not have the energy to 

Clean and she would stare at the grimy mirror whispering “I hate you” louder and louder

Until she was screaming

Anonymous

(CW: Disordered eating, body dysmorphia)