#NaPoWriMo Day 29
the bodies we have are the ones we will always have. i’m learning to fully accept mine. i hope this poem inspires you to do the same.
she asked me if i would love her despite it all
every stretch mark every kinked out curled not so white American hair
every new line every dimpled skin
every but every ounce of skin growing in a different direction
every moment of I don’t want to love you
every nit picking nail biting eye squinting moment in the mirror
she asked me if i would love her
my body
despite it all
she asked us
each woman girl if we would love her
despite every surgery ever C section scar
every post pregnancy weight gain
every moment we didn’t love our bodies post babies
every ounce of bitterness for the brothers who teased our flat chested summers and made them hell
she knows it’s the hard work the pulling out of hearts
the looking at folded skin 2, 3, 4 times
the running and running and weight training only to go home and feel less home and see the ame numbers on the scale
what if she
our beloved body
wanted us to lean into the discomfort the trying the overtrying the overacheiving and just take a deep breath
what if accepting her would simply mean saying
today i go about my day knowing that this
all of this here
every muscle fibre fat flesh
everything is mine
and it’s all i’ve got
so let’s be kind to her
let’s treat her like our own
© 2017 Uchechi Kalu