Her Worries

With the gentle touch of age, she worried, day by day

The smudged wrinkles sharpened, her legs felt weak

Her graying hair piled in loops on her wooden chair

Her eyesight drew sighs of unease

 

"Tell me", she pondered to her young son

"Tell me, will I ever be beautiful, if I was ever to be so?" 

"Ma" he answered, "You are too beautiful to ever be more"

 

Her back stooped, though it wasn't quite the age

She resigned to the melodies of the nightingale

in her terrace. She lived, worrying about her figure

She exhausted her mind with her frantic endeavors

 

"Tell me", she pondered to her young son

"Tell me, have I grown too old to understand this new world?"

"Ma" he answered, "You are grown enough to engulf the world with your wisdom"

 

As days flew, her insecurities grew:

Nailpaint, fancy clothes- nothing could change her mind

Her mind diluted to soft slivers of grief

As she mourned the past, missed her youthful self

 

Her obsession progressed to frenzy, as she worried more and more

But her son continued his chant, 

"You are beautiful, ma. The most beautiful person, for me"

 

---

Unfortunately, she died an unconvinced, early death

Unaware that her son's love made her beautiful

So she died, unknowingly wrapped in his love

In the world that shrunk her morale.

Author's Note

I tried to make this simple, so that the reader would focus more on the message.

So basically, the message here is that we tend to lose our self esteem as we compare ourselves to others. However, the reality is that, our insecurities are pointless because we would always seem beautiful to the ones we love, because their love causes them to see our inner beauty, and the opinions of our beloved is what matters the most. We live everyday worrying about our looks and personality, but it's important to know that each person is different. Each person is beautiful in their own way. And, as long as you love, you'll always be beautiful.

Reviews

[GunMetal]

It's a shame that some of us cannot see past the surface and observe the beauty inside. This reminded me a lot of Buddy Wakefield's Jean Heath, which touches on a similar message in a similar way.
You're beautiful for writing this. Thank you for sharing. It's wonderful.

[Transience]

could vividly relate to your poem.i suffer from such insecurities all the time.round the clock my thoughts revolve around the feel of worthlessness.i am not concerned about looks but i feel my life is devoid of any utility.i make no one happy,i cant control my temper and sarcasm.....it's pure hell most of the time.enough blabbering.thanks for the write.really evoking.

[Odayin]

I think the message here is great. You have such a knowing message, one that we all know deep down inside to be true...but this piece can help us bring it out and face the light and our glowing smile.
I don't know what inspired you to do portray this the way you did, but I think that it came out beautifully and that the simple character choice--especially without names--made the whole memory just that much more lasting.
Great idea, lovely message, and just a great write altogether

[MOON]

Amen, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and true beauty is character, flaws and difference cliche as it is inner beauty is timeless. Society has packaged beauty into this narrow definition so loved by popular magazines, sad really. Lovely writer

[Leslie Philibert]

This is very good, and something that you don`t often read, a good poem that contains a good story with a clear moral message. This is excellent.

[Kaya]

This is suck an important message. One i do think we all wether we have heard it before or not, as i think people tend to forget it when.they need it most. It is also a message that you have managed to word beautifuly, elegantly, and precicely. Thank you

[Michael G.]

An accurate account. You told your story well.

[Pax]

you made a wonderful story with a great message.
our love ones are the always be the one to see our beauty
inside or out. greAT job.

[G!o]

First i adore the message in this piece. It wrenches a heart when we take so much of our time to put others on pedestal instead of our own self. This a great, moving and lovely poem.

[Ruth]

Cleverly done...
Loss of confidence and will are always society related and not by those who love us, took me a long time to see people seldom see us as we see ourselves...guess there is hope there and this shows a potent message!
xoxo