To Girls With Mascara Stains

To girls with mascara stains,
I see you through the heavy makeup.
I see how you ugly cry over
Someone who isn't
Even thinking about you.
I know how fragile the female heart
Can be when fractured,
But know that it is not broken.
I have seen those black stains
In the sink before.
I have seen them sunken deep
Into soft cheeks
And blurry eyes.
I know what it looks like
To not sleep for weeks
Because the pain feels to great.
I know it's hard to stop
Dolling yourself up with makeup
After being told it makes you beautiful.
I know what the urge to be beautiful
Feels like.
I know what it looks like.
I see the warning signs
In your lost gaze,
Your inability to make eye contact,
Your shaking hands.
I know that mascara is there
To cover up dark circles
Or black eyes.
I have been that girl.
I have been you.
Some days I wonder if I still am.
I told a woman yesterday
That no boy is worth crying over
On a daily basis.
Last night,
I looked in the mirror
And rubbed the black mascara
From under my eyes.
I knew that tears had fallen
Like soldiers
In the war against my femininity
And all the emotions that come
With it.
I knew that mascara was the
Mask I needed to hide
The dark circles of no sleep.
But plastering myself with
Black makeup
Did not make the pain lessen.
It didn't make him hurt me
Any less.
This is for the girls with
Mascara stains on their cheeks
And in their porcelain sinks,
You are so much stronger
Than those who oppress you.
You are more than the social constructs
Of makeup and beauty
And sexiness.
Wipe away the mascara.
Look at yourself and know
That nothing will ever be worth
Your tears.
That is not love.
That is not okay.
You are beautiful just the way you are,
So wipe off the facade and
Learn to walk again,
Without the crutch that cripples you
The more you use it.