i once knew a girl
who hated herself
as much as i loved her.
she was the girl who
never trusted her body,
who grabbed at flesh-
twisted and turned in
the mirror to find
imperfections
that were never really
there,
made stretch marks into
valleys, much like the
ones she would carve
into her legs,
shaped in letters reading
fat ugly stupid slut useless
and no matter how many kisses
i gave her,
i could never rid her of those
scars.
i lost her,
to both those words and
to others,
but she still lingers on my lips.
sometimes, when i inhale,
i can still taste the
imperfections i never believed in.

they burn.