Angelica Pavone

I Wish You Had Told Me

I wish you had told me

That my acne looked like

Constellations,

That
of course
my nose

Was large but so are

Oceans,

Canyons,

Mountain ranges!

And no one asked that

Those
be less

Noticeable.

I wish you had told me

That shaving was an option,

But so was

Celebration,

That fat was

Not an enemy

But a part of myself,

Which was

Beautiful,

Wonderful,

Glorious!

I wish you
hadn’t
told me

That adolescence was temporary

and everyone has an awkward stage

and if I work very hard maybe I can change
myself before I hit

Adulthood.

Because
teen
always felt

Like a dirty word,

But even young cicadas

Are called

Nymphs.