I Choose to Breathe!

You are so dark,

How will I see you in the night?

He said it, and they laughed.

My heart cringed,

But I smiled.

I smiled for there was no better expression 

to hide my unsettling emotions.

This wasn't the first time, after all.

I looked like a man, she said

for I needed to get rid of the facial hair

to own my feminity; to be a lady.

I needed to sit cross-legged,

and talk and laugh slowly.

For that's how ladies are.

And here I was with chapped lips, no eyeliner

wondering if I will ever fit.

Your profile picture is pretty, 

but it needs to be edited.

I was asked to apply some filter,

that can hide the acne and dark circles

and make me look a little less chubby.

For chubby was bad, being lean was bad,

Acne and dark circles were not pretty,

But why assume I am seeking prettiness? 

In the age of push-up bras

and Instagram filters,

the definition of being beautiful has changed.

But I choose to not conform.

For I don't want to be your kind of beautiful.

The thick layer that you want me

to put on my face; suffocates me. 

And I choose to breathe.