the veiled lady/hailstones between my teeth

I'M FINE/I'M UGLY

there was a time where i looked in the mirror and saw blessing.

i did not notice my buck teeth, my too-dark skin, or the squint in my left eye.

but that was a time before i was reaped of my girlhood by harvesters.

i do not see myself as a blessing anymore.

there was a time where my mother never told me to shave my legs

or exfoliate my skin

or fix my broken body.

but that was before my long surplus of "fine" was replaced with drought.

that was before i drank from the river of truth 

and saw my reflection distort in ripples.

i do not see myself as a blessing anymore.