Plain Girl Poem by Jackie Chou

(inspired by Maya Angelou)

Flashy women want to be like me.
They'd trade their salon do's
for my coarse, unstyled hair.
Take off their jewels
to achieve the look
of my unadorned neck and fingers.
Tired of their acrylic nails,
they covet my short, unpolished ones.
Everything about me-
my modest clothing, thick glasses,
nonchalance towards men-
is a thing of their awe and envy.
Neither them nor I know
what men see in me.
Maybe I'm a different species
of humans altogether.
One with a larger brain than most.
That's what they all see in me,
underneath my unornamented skull.