I never knew I was beautiful,
I was never told.
Apparently many people thought this,
but I was the last one to know.
No one said a thing to me;
I guess they thought I knew already
or that others had told me.
But they were observers,
as if gazing upon an image
or looking in a mirror.
But I could not see what
they saw in me;
I could only see subjectively.
I didn't know what beauty was,
but I learned what ugliness
was from experience quite quick.
Kids my age, growing up,
jealous, I suppose,
always ignored me or when they spoke
told me how unattractive I was.
And so all these voices were
all I knew to be true-
how I looked, how others saw me;
and that's what I thought myself to be: ugly.
It wasn't until many years later
that I learned that quite often
people see only what they want to see,
and not how something is truly actually to be.
For what is beauty,
if it truly lie in the eye
of the beholder?
I've learned this lesson now,
after much pain and experience,
but it doesn't matter anyhow.
I've come to be indifferent.
Weight, height, face, color, race-
it all has no meaning to me.
It's all a matter of how
people treat me;
that is more important to me
than just what "appears" to be.
Author notes
As Eliza says towards the end of "My Fair Lady": "I will always be a flower girl to Prof. Higgins, because that is how he sees and treats me. But to the Colonel, I will always be a lady, because that is how he sees and treats me. You see it is not a matter of language, or accent, or of manner of dress, but how one is treated that makes the difference between a flower girl and a lady."
In a list
- Of Family and Myself • next in list
- Thoughts and Messages • next in list
- Trophy Winners • next in list
- My Own Favorite Poems • next in list
A contest entry
- Get Over It by Beautiful-N-Broken.
300 points, ended May 14, 2008, 10 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
People respond accordingly to how they are treated.
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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Beautiful. And you said you didn't have anything...Ha, funny you
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This is very beautiful, mostly because it's true. I can relate, and thank you for entering, best wishes to you,
jin
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I really enjoyed the descriptiveness of this poem. Every single word rings true for so many. A pretty face or super model body have nothing to do with beauty.
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i love your words of truth. so many struggle with their self image andyou put this nicely. what truly matters is the stuff on the inside. beautifully put. good write and good luck!
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This is a wonderful piece and a little rocky in places but no one is perfect, I like the messege here. Well done thank you for the entry and the very best of luck to you in my contest.
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WE ALL LEARN THIS LESSON,
IF WE GROW FROM THIS THEN LESSON LEARNED
IT BUILDS COMPASSION,
I DON'T WANT TO KEEP SAYING ME TOO.
CAN BE ANNOYING,
BUT YOU HAD DESCRIBED MY EXPERIENCES GROWING UP
I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I LOOKED LIKE
ONLY THROUGH THE EYES OF OTHERS
IT WAS NOT UNTILL I WAS TOLD THE TRUTH THAT I SEEN MY TRUE SELF,
BUT BECAUSE OF THIS I LEARNED WE ARE ALL THE SAME
AND I AM NOW FULL OF COMPASSION
AS ARE YOU., IT SHINES THROUGH YOUR WRITE.
GOD BLESS...
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Great write. Keep up the good work. Good luck in the contest.
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I love this poem- The greatest beauty is in the soul of the person..
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beautiful. this is like me, people tell me i'm pretty but i never believe it.
such a great write, so true.
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I LOVE this poem.
It is so true.
Unfortunately people judge you for outside looks.
Great write!
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