BEYOND THE MIRROR

WARNING: This poem contains sensitive themes including eating disorders and graphic restrictive behavior.

Spread thin against this wall

I watch the skin melt away from my ribs.

As my sternum protrudes

I feel my skeletons are coming out of their closet

So joyous they are to be free.

Instead they are inside of me.

And now,

They are me.

Refusing to let me eat

Refusing to let me sleep

My body is screaming for a meal.

But they cannot fathom the thought of extra food!

For the vision staring back at me was one we worked so hard for.

And a promise I still long to keep

A precious secret, clung to my chest

Unlike my clothes, which hang from my hips

And my lips, they quiver as I ask

I am beautiful, aren’t I?

Skeleton lifts my fragile wrist, inspecting

Don’t you see, you’re terrifying?

I am trapped in this shattered reflection”