Issue 02 Next Chapter

DEAR Y(O)U1
You were afraid to smile
For you had squinty eyes.
You always tried to hide
For you were big in size.
Wearing boring clothes
To hide and to loathe
Your whole body and air,
Not belonging anywhere.
I am not afraid to smile
For I love my monolid eyes.
I don’t want to hide
For I found comfort in my size.
Wearing whatever I please
I now feel more at ease.
I am confident, I believe
But I had been deceived.
For I still feel small
I’m on my high and then fall.
When I look into my mirror,
I sometimes still feel bitter.
But I try to love everything
No matter what others may think.
With all my strength, I declare
Dear Yu, I belong everywhere.
1 I chose the title Dear
Y(o)u because of my Chinese
name „Yu“, so I’m addressing
myself in 3 ways in this poem.
Brigitte Gong