In my shell

"Her tongue
Bloody...
She bites down on it
Far too much"

"And her tongue...
Bleeds the words she wishes to speak"

I really was caught by the interplay of these two lines.

Thank you so much

I feel

Glad you can relate 😊

I think the girl in the mirror needs a hug from arms strong enough to lift her up and carry her out of the mirror. Instead of looking at a superficial reflection, look inward. Search your heart for the beauty you seek. You certainly take a pretty picture, but the big picture of you is revealed in your verse. Open your heart and spill your poetry to expose the true beauty in you...    
You are making great strides in your poetry so far. I wish I had even thought of expressing myself when I was your age. I was a few months shy of 18 before I figured out that poetry comes from the heart and it took a huge lesson in stupidity and forgiveness to teach me one of the most valuable lessons in life. You got a big jump on my beginnings in poetry already releasing your feelings.    
   
Don't curl yourself up in a shell. Crack the egg and look at the world sunny side up...!    
JJ  
   
"Sunny-Side-UP"  
   
Eggshells conceal a beautiful life forming inside    
The one within struggling to swiftly break free    
Unwilling to reveal the secrets she still wants to hide    
Needing only to shatter the mirror through which she cannot see    
   
Cracking her shell let a beam of light slither in    
Now she must penetrate the membrane retaining the walls    
Her verse allows her to burst out and finally begin    
The journey down the future's endless meandering halls    
   
Spill out the fresh yolk of your creative senses    
Let yourself be contained only by the infinite sky    
Uncage your heart and shred unwanted old fences    
Hold nothing back, unfurl your wings to let your poetry fly  
   
(thank you for inspiring me Jessica!)

That was quite possible the best thing for me to wake up too. And I totally agree, she needs strong arms to lift her up and trust me, she's been trying to find them.

Sometimes finding arms to lift you is not the hard part, it's choosing the ones that won't let you down or drop you when to weight becomes inconvenient. You have to be careful who you trust. Hungry vultures lurk behind clouds... JJ

That's a really good point and it seems like no matter what I do it seems like I only find weak arms who end up dropping me

That's the thing about life. Experience is the only way to learn sometimes. But then you have to get used to the bumps and bruises. Keep looking and keep watching. They sound like the same thing but they're not. The key is in the seeing. There's only so much learning you can get from advice and sometimes that is not good. I wish I had all the answers but I'm still learning my lessons. Poetry I can give advice on, but life and love are mostly first hand requirements. JJ

cleverly you when from first person, to third person-
effortlessly you laid out a remarkable, thorns and all,
how transitioning into self discovery is a function of inner depth
how one projects a sense of knowledge, when in reality we are all
making guessing a science of opinion.
this person is beautiful, if only for her thoughts of reflection.
again- mind expanded..thank you

Glad you enjoyed it... thank you so much ☺️

So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much!

Such an endearing ink...touches the heart...

Thank you so much!

Thank you so much!

now i see why poetry man loves ur poetry
the she is she  
you ,
u know it
get over the follies of one's gone by
be bold not shy
never give in as in fear
then see the world with new eyes
o poet young deer