Trio Of Words

Plastic Skin

Plastic skin.
They tell her she's not good enough that her stretch marks are ugly and that she must paint her face to fit in.

They tell him he's not manly enough and that he has to lift weights to fit in.
They gossip laughing at her stringy hair that she usually just leaves in braids.
They slap him on the arm telling him to man up.

She stands in front of the mirror wondering why she's ugly on the outside.
He stands in front of the mirror wondering why he's not enough and not muscled.

One day she can't take their words no more, she throws the door open running out to her car to go to a plastic surgeon.

One day he's had enough of their words, he goes out to buy steroids and lifts hundreds of pounds over his own body weight.

They both walk in the room and look at each other up and down,

"What's up with him?"
"What's up with her?"
They keep their silent thoughts to themselves, but then they hear the crowd calling and laughing.

They both step towards each other ignoring the words of the crowd.
"You were perfect the way you were before." They speak in unison.

Oh Plastic Skin.

Then they both ask "Why did you change?" Pointing toward the crowd they speak again "because of them."

She shakes her head as a few tears fall from her eyes and his glisten with a few of tears too.

"Why didn't we see we were perfect before we let them change our fate."
"The curse of plastic skin."
She whispers but yet he hears her.

He wraps her in his arms.
"We not be able to change what we did but we can put a stop to this once and for all." He speaks into her ear.
"How?" Was her soft reply.

He pulls away from her and smiles sadly.
"We can teach them to love themselves even though society teaches us to hate our bodies."

She nods her head and smiles a sad smile too.
"That's just what we'll do."
Together they'll try to break the curse of plastic skin.

They'll find they can't win every battle between the curse,
but they'll find they can win some of the battles teaching that all humans are more than enough.