Updated: Oct 5, 2020
Hands with heavy wrinkles
And bruised fingertips
With toes too short
And feet one size too large
Eyes dark brown and lips like leaves
Why was it so hard to love me?
I wanted to hug myself, and learn to love me
Despite the fact that my hands and face were lined with wrinkles
And my feet never quite sunk into the pile of autumn leaves.
Always worrying about my long, scarred fingertips
And my ears always wondering if they were far too thin or large.
Did it really matter if I was short?
Either too tall or too short,
Sideways glances which rattled me
Making me feel like a criminal at large.
Always ashamed of my wrinkles
And my imperfect fingertips
But what if each of us were like leaves?
Each of us are different,
Unique but always together
Just like leaves.
Whether we’re tall or short,
Including my beautiful fingertips
Maybe it wasn’t so hard to love me.
My hiccups and wrinkles
Regardless if I were small or large.
If I could love myself the world would grow large
And saplings of love would bloom like leaves
Ingrained with our caring wrinkles
Along with fears of being “too short”
What if I could learn to really love me?
The strands of my hair, my toes, and fingertips?
From the strands of my hair to my fingertips,
Never feeling too small or large
Really, truly loving me
Embracing myself, and my lips shaped like leaves
My fears and worries cut short
Catching only the reflections of my wrinkles.
Aaryana Sharma is a fifteen year old sophomore who likes to write poetry and read comics. When she's not juggling homework she can be found playing with her dogs or on the couch watching a Hindi movie. She gets her inspiration from her favorite poet Rupi Kaur.