Hollywood Poem by Molly C. King

They, with the tiny waists,
Smile bright and tell you,
‘Be yourself,
As long as you buy,
As long as you try,
To be just like us.’
You can never escape.
You won’t even know you do it,
You buy clothes,
Cry over those,
You can’t fit into,
Too tight, too loose,
Nothing but fabric and thread,
But they invade the voice in your head.
A camera,
Can tell a thousand lies,
What is a flash, a smile,
A moment in time?
The flash dims,
The smile disappears,
And they, with the tiny waists,
Become nothing more than we,
Waiting breathlessly at their gates.