Drowning in Humanity

Stuck

I don't feel beautiful.
No matter how many times they tell me I am.
Because I am stuck.

I am stuck in my mother's skin.

Everything hurts when I pace through the room.
I know they can see her.
Though they don't know it--I do.

All they see is the aftermath of her.
A broken, once beaten child.
They know I'm alive but don't know my heart is still beaten.

I shave my head, scrub my body, and put my face of makeup on
Hoping to eliminate her from my skin. But I am too tired for this battle.

Every morning.
And people think that my fear of looking in mirrors is irrational...
Maybe if it didn't recognize her.

Then maybe I would be fine.
"You have to look in the mirror" to cover up but I remember her still.
So I am stuck.

Stuck with my mother's skin.