Pretty

This entry is dedicated to Rupi Kaur who’s poetry and vulnerability have inspired me to be brave, and write as I never have before.

I chose to put quotations around the word pretty to make it clear that I do not represent it. Everyone has their own idea of what they think is pretty.

I’ve been told that I’m “pretty” from the time I was a child. So that is what became my value. I still struggle with that. 

– the tiny voice in the back of my head

Tell me I’m “pretty” and I will say thank you and smile appreciatively, but tell me that I am smart, I am strong, that you like my sense of childlike curiosity… I will see you for seeing me.

– what I ache for

You will never see me because you only see “pretty”. 

– To those men

It doesn’t matter how “pretty” you are, you’re still alone.

– nobody looks deeper

Being “pretty” is a curse and a blessing. I may have been handed a lot of things in life, but I have also been bullied, harassed, and constantly objectified.

-to those who tell me I should be grateful

Being born “pretty” is not permission for you to speak your vulgar thoughts so freely or to touch me with your unclean hands.  This body was not put on this earth for your pleasure. 

– to those men

Being pretty is not a bad thing. Feel it, show it, own it, embrace it, just don’t let it define you.  

– my message to women