Maybe today

Maybe today I’ll love myself

Maybe today I’ll look in the mirror and smile

Maybe today I’ll ignore the flaws and scars and insecurities,

The welts from the many lashes of my mental tongue and the scornful glares of my mind’s eye.

But I am stronger than them

I am stronger than my nightmares

Stronger than the tortuous hands that reach out from the pit

That darkness inside that preys and consumes and swallows me whole.

But not today

Today I’ll listen

Today I’ll believe them when I say I am beautiful

Today I’ll love myself

Today I will.