In the mirror’s cold embrace, a face does stare,
Seeking approval in the gaze so bare.
Standards etched in stone, but hearts may break,
When beauty’s measure is a cruel mistake.

Eyes that glimmer with unspoken dreams,
Hidden beneath society’s harsh beams.
The quest for perfection, a never-ending race,
Leaves many longing, feeling out of place.

Yet beauty sprouts in the most unlikely of soils,
Beyond the masks and the endless toils.
A soul’s true light, unbound and free,
Shines brightest in its own decree.

So let not the world define your worth,
For beauty is found in one’s true mirth.
Embrace the self that the mirror can’t see,
For there lies the real beauty, eternally.