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The Beauty Bus

May 6, 2013
By Laugh-it-Out PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York, New York
More by this author
Laugh-it-Out PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York, New York
38 articles 0 photos 445 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light" --Dylan Thomas

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I saw a girl on the bus today
arms linked through her best friends
face masked in makeup
plastic smile on her face

I saw a girl on the bus today
with highlighted auburn hair
that matched the girl next to her
and her clothes hung loosely about her frame

I saw a girl on the bus today
and even though she smiled
the warmth did not reach the paradise of her brown eyes
instead it died on her crimson lips

I saw a girl on the bus today
who held her head in her hands, laughing
unchipped nails dipped in a fuchsia pink
diamond studs shoved into perfect ears

I saw a girl on the bus today
who was beautiful in her own distant way
and though she had never realized it before
she knew this now

I saw a girl on the bus today
while looking at my own reflection

© by Nicole G, Weymouth, MA

The author's comments:
Never doubt your own beauty: guarenteed your pretty :) Not everybody is as skinny as a model (hey, they are photoshopped) or perfect or whatever. Live and embrace your flaws: they make you unique! Keep rockin :)
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JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 13 comments.

BurrThistle GOLD said...
on Mar. 5 2014 at 11:27 am
BurrThistle GOLD, Jaipur, Other
10 articles 0 photos 161 comments

Favorite Quote:
Write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect

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okay, i know you asked me to read only three pieces that you contributed but your writing is addicttive, really! And like all poems(that i have read), this was lovely, too. Keep writing
SpringRayyn PLATINUM said...
on Sep. 15 2013 at 10:47 pm
SpringRayyn PLATINUM, Lakeville, Minnesota
34 articles 2 photos 658 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Don&#039;t punish yourself,&quot; she heard her say again, but there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness too. That was writing.&quot;<br /> --Markus Zusak, &quot;The Book Thief&quot;

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I like the descriptions of all the different people and how unjudgmental they all are (well, except "plastic smile," that seems a bit judgmental). I thought at first that every different person was just a discription of yourself and the reflection statement at the end was supposed to mean that you'd described yourself as different people, but reading the comments below it seems that is not the case. But anyway, reading it the first time around in that way was a good experience! C:
Carpe-Caffeam GOLD said...
on Jun. 15 2013 at 8:44 pm
Carpe-Caffeam GOLD, No Where, Florida
10 articles 0 photos 444 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;If it weren&rsquo;t for the coffee, I&rsquo;d have no identifiable personality whatsoever.&rdquo; &ndash;David Letterman

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I love how you start off by talking about all these fake people who are going out on this bus and keeping on a perpetual mask and then closed with a confident reflection of yourself, unblemised by insecurities. I love the positive outlook at the end of this poem! :D Great job!
estucker1998 PLATINUM said...
on May. 25 2013 at 2:17 pm
estucker1998 PLATINUM, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
20 articles 0 photos 63 comments

Favorite Quote:
The voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because of the thought that everything may be done better and again. --John Green, The Fault in Our Stars.

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Woah. Just... woah. That was AMAZING! I think about that a lot every day--like, seeing what people look like with all the makeup and perfect clothes and stuff and wondering how they actually feel. I'm a big fan of strategic repetition and yours was PERFECT. It really was amazing. The imagery was definitely there and I could see it as you described it, even though you only used a few words. That's powerful. I loved the ending, and the message. GREAT job. Keep writing! 
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND said...
on May. 25 2013 at 7:15 am
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND, Islamabad, Other
75 articles 16 photos 1136 comments

Favorite Quote:
I&#039;ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. <br /> - Maya Angelou <br /> When i was little/I used to point a chubby finger toward the dark sky/And ask my father/why some stars moved and others didn&rsquo;t/He would laugh and explain that some were airplanes/I still wish on them today ~ Laugh-It-Out<br /> The feathers of a crow are black/The ink of my pen is blacker/The pain of my heart is blackest~ Mckay<br /> If love produced a blossom/I&rsquo;d take it in my palm/What a blessing, the bright color!/How soothing, such a balm!/I&rsquo;d keep a petal for my own/The rest, drop from my hands/For such a flower would multiply/And populate the lands~ thesilentraven<br /> And I began to rival legends/Long entombed before my birth./But for all my much envied fame/The lust for more would not abate./The plaques and prizes with my name/Will, like all things, disintegrate. ~ TheEpic95 now known as Helena_Noel

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All I can say now is WOW. Actually Lexus already wrote ditto what I was going to write... This is amazing all I'm going to add is I especially LOVED the last stanza!
OldYoungOne said...
on May. 24 2013 at 11:44 am
I enjoyed the poem because it gave a universal message: Love yourself. I liked the way you described girls who were perfect but in a way inperfect in the clain of perfection. Keep writing I enjoy our work.
PhoebeB GOLD said...
on May. 23 2013 at 8:50 pm
PhoebeB GOLD, Lexington, Massachusetts
10 articles 0 photos 26 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.&quot;<br /> -Victor Hugo

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I agree with all the previous comments. The theme of your poem is also substantially more developed than those of most other teenink writers. You flawlessly attacked a very hard thing to write about: you took on a big risk by writing about how people view themselves and body image, being as it is that lots of people today are very consumed by these things. Well, I guess what i mean to say is... congratulations. Incredible poem!
ChocolateLove SILVER said...
on May. 21 2013 at 9:48 am
ChocolateLove SILVER, Warsaw, Other
5 articles 6 photos 158 comments
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I agree with Mckay and Wordnerd54. I love the meaning behind it, the repetition is simply amazing and the imagery is jaw-dropping. This poems is great! You are very talented, write on :D 
Mckay ELITE said...
on May. 15 2013 at 6:04 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

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I like the message it conveys: Love yourself no matter what. We're not all Adonises or Kate Uptons. But why can't we embrace our own beauty? It may not be super-ficial—or is it facial?—beauty according to the world's stanards but that doesn't mena we're ugly. Awesome work, Liv. 
wordnerd54 SILVER said...
on May. 14 2013 at 12:56 pm
wordnerd54 SILVER, Sparta, New Jersey
6 articles 0 photos 80 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.&quot; ~E.L. Doctorow

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Wow, I really love this! It's such an important message to girls of all ages.  I like how you mention that she looks the same as everyone else at the beginning - because girls always tend to try to fit in so desperately - but by the end she recognizes the fact that she is beautiful in her own way. Great, great job with a wonderful message!
Cutey-Beauty SILVER said...
on May. 13 2013 at 10:04 am
Cutey-Beauty SILVER, Ulaanbaator, Other
6 articles 0 photos 65 comments

Favorite Quote:
Soli Deo Gloria.

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Wonderful way to show "stereotypes" and people without judging or condeming or making anyone feel bad. Just a beautifully descriptive observational piece that is just amazing by itself. GREAT JOB!
iDani-iBeauty SILVER said...
on May. 12 2013 at 10:31 pm
iDani-iBeauty SILVER, Chicago, Illinois
5 articles 0 photos 31 comments

Favorite Quote:
- Failure Is Only The Opportunity To Begin Again, Only This Time More Wisely<br /> - Henry Ford -

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- Amazing Poem ! I Can Tell You Really Put Thought Into This ! Very Creative, Keep It Up ! :)
LexusMarie PLATINUM said...
on May. 12 2013 at 9:40 pm
LexusMarie PLATINUM, Las Cruces, New Mexico
27 articles 0 photos 423 comments

Favorite Quote:
The more control you have over yourself, the less control others have over you.

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Hey! Long time no talk! I love the title, how creative. It could be a novel or movie title, I think. So, I love the repetition in here, not over-used, not a bad sentence to repeat. Brilliant! I love all the different descriptions of the girls. The metaphors and similies in here are wicked! The visuals you put in the reader's mind the whole time are so clear.. I saw everything. The pink, the hair, the clothes, etc. I see these people everyday and wonder how they truly feel about themselves. I LOVE the ending. How beautiful. How pretty. How sweet. I love this. The whole idea, the poem, the ending. Everything is perfect. I feel like this should be hanging in like a plastic surgeon's office.. the doctor leaves the women in the room with this poem and they get to read it before they decide if they truly need to change to be beautiful. You know? But, they'd never do that for fear they may never make money.. but, I know better, some people just don't know how pretty they are. Anyways, again, wonderful job!