Look in the mirror, tell me what do you see?

A tummy not as flat as it used to be?

Your eyes have focused on the wrong part

For they haven’t yet glimpsed inside your heart.

Look closer, and embrace your inner beauty

Because those who love you, that’s what they see.

True, you’re not as young as you used to be

(Once so slim and full of energy)

But you tell yourself you’re not so pretty.

But here’s what I think makes you beautiful –

You love, you care, you think, you feel

And to those who truly know you

You’re kind and sincere, your love is real.

And this is where you’ve bared your soul

Where tender lips have kissed, searching for more

Where fingertips have brushed across your skin

And the desire is deeper than ever before.

Now look in the mirror, what do you see?

Right under your heart those little hearts beat

In that sacred inner place as their little bodies grew,

There you nurtured your babies,

So perfect, so sweet.

So now, when you look in the mirror

You’ll see there is beauty in the imperfections,

And there are many untold stories

Held within those mirror reflections.

© Julie Ann Bryant 2017

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This poem, as it appears on my webpage, has also been saved to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

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This poem first appeared in my book, My Baby, My Grief, My Love (2024; 2nd edn 2025), pp.116-117. Here is my back-story to this poem …

The older I get, the more I realise that the beauty we recognise within is felt, rather than seen. Instead of being harsh on myself for how my face and body have aged, I would like to think I am growing old gracefully, one grey hair at a time. I wrote this poem to remind myself of this.