The lines across those thighs,
the lumps and bumps on your belly,
are like the valleys, the deep chasms of the Earth.
That texture on your skin,
treatment for which should be our whim
The lush green forests, the warm beach,
the feel of rain against the bare skin.
This texture that we find all so charming,
Who knew could be our marring?
Counting those so-called imperfections on your skin
is like reprimanding those flowers in your garden
The Earth within us all
for why we should stand tall
the Belle we catcall
has so much more to give
than just a simple, beautiful face
Know that it’s not a sprawl
for it is who we are meant to be
with less or more curves that they wanted
with deeper color than they would like
with bolder thoughts than they would apprentice
It is time
that we stop searching for a home in another
when since day 1
all that you need resides within you
it is the world that has convinced us otherwise
For it is a billion-dollar industry that would turn to dust
if we believed we were beautiful enough already
We all wear masks
we fear what the world will think
and hide the "flawed" pieces of ourselves
always running,
running from our real
We find ourselves burying parts of ourselves so deep
it becomes hard to see the difference between
what is true and what is not
So taken by the perfect bodies and perfect faces
of the models that cover today's magazines
On some days, it becomes hard to even look at yourself in the mirror
lying on the floor like a crumpled piece of paper
Your skin carries memory of where it has been
it is a reminder of all that you have conquered
but what was once a piece of art,
a piece of nature,
is now layered with botox and fillers
If beauty is more than just perfect skin, the desired hourglass figure, and vibrant eyes
Why does the media feed us such lies?
Why are beautiful people photoshopped to fit the headlines?
Their broken perception of beauty
is manufactured
and we are not
The hamartia of this generation
is the flawed idea of perfection,
being beautiful, feminine, and graceful
when these are all shallow, objectifying views of chauvinistic men
The Earth within us all
is why we should never feel small.