"lash"

my eyelashes grow back in so quickly,
as if to hide the bare patches of flesh.
as if to try and conceal my ugliness.

but i don't try to be pretty anymore,
i am past that stage of life.
i am past that particular obsession.

so now i barely smile at their efforts,
wishing they would just let me be ugly.
wishing they would just let me be me.

always i am told that what counts
is what is on the inside. but what's outside
is what everyone judges me on.

why should i fight this system any longer,
when my bones are tired with resistance?
when my skin is razor thin with trying?

for what reason should i keep my eyelashes,
the long, thick symbols of beauty?
the long, thick lies of my eyes.

no, i will not keep them,
i will yank them, still breathing, as fast as they grow in.
i will not conceal the reality of my anatomy.

this land was made for you and me.