Good Enough

Each dawn begins behind a borrowed face,
A careful mask, a practiced kind of grace.
A painted smile, a borrowed trend to wear,
Yet mirrors whisper, "Someone else stands there."

Shoes carve the skin, while beauty claims its due;
The world applauds the mask—but never you.
The heart grows silent, frightened to confess,
That all this striving still feels meaningless.

The crowd decides what value ought to be,
A throne of fools disguised as royalty.
Each glance a stone, each rumor sharp as glass,
Until your worth seems buried in the past.

You count their beauty, wishing it were yours;
Their flawless smiles become imagined doors.
"I want her eyes... her laughter... and her light."
While blind to stars already burning bright.

At least in books the answers can be found;
Where effort grows on honest, fertile ground.
Yet even wisdom earns another scar—
"Too smart," they laugh, as if that's what you are.

So every evening ends where it began:
Removing all the pieces of the plan.
The curls unwind, the makeup fades away;
The stranger leaves... but why did she still stay?

We chase reflections others taught to prize,
While truth stands quietly before our eyes.
The soul was never measured by the skin,
Nor by the noise that echoed from within.

Comparison's a thief with gentle hands;
It steals tomorrow while in today it stands.
It promises a paradise to see,
Yet chains the heart from simply being free.

The girls you envy fight their own disguise;
Behind their smiles are hidden storms and skies.
The ones you place upon a golden throne
Are often wishing for a life unknown.

The world sells mirrors polished with deceit,
And tells us we are somehow incomplete.
But stars don't shine because they look the same;
They burn because each carries its own flame.

Your worth was never stitched into a dress,
Nor found in numbers, beauty, or success.
No crowd can vote your value into birth—
A diamond does not ask the dust its worth.

So wear your scars as proof that you have grown;
No heart was ever meant to bloom alone.
The greatest freedom life will ever bring
Is needing no applause for everything.

For when the masks dissolve and silence comes,
You'll hear the oldest truth that softly hums:

You were enough before the race began.
Enough before they taught you who I am.
Enough before the mirror learned to lie.
Enough beneath each lonely question: Why?

Not one among billions...

But one unlike any.

#poem #society #youth #system #matrix #humanity #life #destiny #world