Perfect: a poem

By ELISE RIO
Staff Writer
“Nobody is perfect”:
An overused phrase used as an encouragement,
But seemingly holds us back.
It should not be used as a consolation.
It should not even be a cliché.
Does it really make any sense?
The word perfect, in a literal interpretation, can only be used to describe predefined things
(A perfect circle
A perfect composition
A perfect score).
But a person has layers and layers and spectrums of qualities that are redefined every day-
There are an infinite number of characteristics that we use to evaluate how “perfect” someone is.
But apparently, there is no model example,
And with the lack of an example-
If nobody is perfect in the first place-
How can we keep judging everyone as imperfect?
The strict definition of the word loses all meaning,
Becoming discouraging and abstract and overused.
So we must decide to redefine the word so that people can fit in its meaning,
So we can find examples of truly perfect people:
People who are perfect because they have overcome difficult times,
People who are perfect because they long to redefine the world for the better,
People who are perfect because they have truly attempted to improve on things that deem them imperfect.
Redefine the concept of a perfect person, or completely obliterate the word “perfect” as a means to describe one.