we are an entire jewelry department
some diamond,
some silver,
some plastic.

how long do you have to be polished
to shine brighter than the sun?

how many times can we take a hammer
and swing away until you crack?

what is the best way to cut you into
a million tiny pieces?

in what angle do your facets turn heads?

how on earth do we hide all of these
imperfections?

and I wish we’d stop identifying ourselves
as diamonds and rubies
sapphires and onyx
silver and
gold

sorting ourselves by
how hard we build ourselves from the outside
in

laying down the guidelines for
‘beauty’.

we all know that a soul
shouldn’t be obscured by such simple
measures of value.