There once was a young girl with green eyes
who wore her soft blonde hair
in braided pigtails

At the age of seven,
she watched her older sister
stand in front of the mirror before school
pinching her stomach with a disgusted face
               neither of them ate breakfast that morning

at the age of nine,
she watched her older brother
make fun of a girl with glasses
for reading on the bus
              she went home and hid all her books in the attic

At the age of twelve,
she watched the older girls at school with straight hair and short skirts
put makeup on in the bathroom
and discuss how boys would only like you, if you looked perfect like them
               the next day she arrived with red lips, 
               short shorts, and no braided pigtails

at the age of fourteen,
she watched her father hit her mother for the first time
her mother cried when she saw her standig in the doorway
and told her daddy didnt mean it
                The next year, she told herself that
                her boyfriend didnt mean it, either

at the age of sixteen,
she was paper thin and empty
with straight blonde hair, red ips,
purple flesh and lifeless green eyes
                while staring at her reflection
                in the bathroom mirror
                she though to herself
                "at least i'm normal"