I won't lie to you,

I love the shapes of the clouds, Women covered in dreams, dripping their gold into the pot at the end of the rainbow

I like the colors; I like 'em all yellow, red, blue, pink & green

If you visited the art Gallery or the MOMA there you would find

Paintings of Mona Lisa, my mother, my sister

And each freckle painted specifically, each strand of hair coiled toward the heavens or straight toward the oceans, curled to perfection

You are beautiful

Put on your heels or your converse

Talk or curse like the lady you are

Be whimsical and feminine

Or masculine on the days you want to be

You are allowed to unlock your chains gifted to you from society

They can no longer tie you to those beauty standards they engraved on your ancestor's tombstones

You are not just thighs and breasts

You are strength and a giver of life

You are a goddess blessed with the intelligence to figure out how to carry the world on your shoulders

Without ever being asked if you wanted to

You deal with the way life comes to you

You are allowed to breathe, live, laugh, love, think, trust, yell & scream & dream

You are allowed to grow a garden between the gates of your heavens

You are allowed to show your tiger stripes and expose your mane

You are allowed to love yourself to the bone because you are more than just fragile particulate matter

You are something that matters and for that you are beautiful