I can see dead eyes stare back at me

In the hallways of Hell

Skin and bone and exhaustion

Hidden behind eyeliner and lipstick,

Hunger ignored for the sake of love

That won’t last more than a night,

I can see regret and temptation in high school girls as clear as the sun shines,

Clouds of death hanging over their heads and

Others telling you you’re too young to feel like this

And you wonder if it’s a scam

That you managed to trick yourself

Into believing you feel

Abused and used up and crushed

Your body drowning in sorrow

That you’re no longer sure is real

It’s very real

These scars of war you wear

Are yours

And they’re very real

Pushed to the edge you have no other choice

But to jump into death with open arms and peace

All we want is peace

With ourselves

To love ourselves

And to be loved by other for loving ourselves

We may be young and feel this way

But why did you let it get this far?

When we asked for help and you turned away

Looking back when we’re gone

Wishing you believed us when you had the chance

We live in a world where beauty

is valued more than health and acceptance,

when it’s valued more

than life and safety

this is the world we walk

and we say change is good

well it’s time to change now

for the better

It’s okay to wake up and not wear make up

This mask some of us put on

You’re beautiful without it

Using beauty as a stepping stool to society

Love yourself as much as you want someone to love you

Because you deserve it

We are worth more than what we percieve

We are worth more than our cuts, slashes, and bruises,

More than our past, failures, and missed opportunities

More than our memories of should have,

Could have

Would have;

More than the holes in our body

and the death beneath our skin

we are more than our disorders,

the pills we swallow

and the food we do or don’t eat

we are more than our bumps, our curves,

and the size of our jeans

and we deserve the love we want and need

from ourselves

if we don’t love ourselves; it doesn’t matter who else will,

only you matter

These same girls that walk the halls with broken down souls and used up strength

Will only walk on life with similar emotionless gain

And it’s time to teach these girls, these young women

that they are enough,

that you are enough

Because you only have ever been

Enough.