When I was young and fresh -
When the crispness of the winter air
Turned my cheeks into rosy buds of May
When giggling and useless chatter
Filled my desire for meaningful conversation
When worry was last on my agenda

So young and beautiful
Such freshness to her face
So naked to the intrusions of worldly greed
She radiates with the promise of a fulfilling future
There's a spark to the look in her eyes
Oh tell me! Can't you see it?

Inside that smile
Behind the fibers of that snapshot
There's the beginning of a tormented soul
A sometimes broken spirit

A self-conscious girl who sees nothing
But a crooked tooth to her smile
A hideous body warped
By one too many chocolate bars
And a dreadful complexion-
To an unattractive face.

On the other side of that photograph
Is a girl who dreads going home
A girl who wants to be beautiful
A dejected and miserable girl
Who wishes there was a place in the world
That she could escape to-
That wouldn't look at her the way
She looks at herself.

When I was young and fresh
Did the crispness of the winter air
Turn my cheeks into rosy buds of May?
Yes indeed it did,
But I never knew until now