When I was younger, my parents would say things like, "Laura, stop eating so much" or "No more food for you."
My great grandma would tell me things like, "You'll never find a husband looking like that" or "Laura, you need to diet."
I was ten years old.
No girl should grow up and be told she needs to diet...or to worry about male opinions for her body for marriage. The other day, my mother hugged me so tight and told me, "You lost so much weight! You look so beautiful!"
I might look beautiful now to her, but I always was. Always. Always. Always. We all do. Because we look like ourselves.
And for that, I wrote this poem.
On Both Sides—and Either
Her belly stuck out of her jeans
And her jeans stuck out of her boots
Her boots weren't laced
Yet in every way traced
With the muddy grass, deep in the woods
Her belly stuck out of her skirt
And her skirt was too short for their taste
But she didn't care
She flipped her long hair
No, she couldn't dare
Hate the skirt that showed off her legs
Her belly stuck out of her dress
And her dress had danced in the wind
She sashayed and shook
Like a trembling brook
Like a loose-hanging hook
She made everyone look
At her lips, at her body, her skin
Her belly stuck out in the mirror
And she poked her tongue out at the picture
Pictures that clogged every drain in her mind
Pictures that dodged every train and design
Led to voices that rendered her speechless and blind
To the beauty that proved she was one-of-a-kind
One-of-a-kind, on both sides— and either
Yes, her belly stuck out, and her tongue was so warm
And her eyes were so sweet, like two candy-corns
And her hands were so light— like vanilla rainstorms
—Storms that would lead her to where her loose boots
—Storms that would lead her to pull down her hood
—And know deep inside that the sun's in her heart
—And know deep inside that she's beauty, an art
In the wetness, she glowed, she deformed
She loves the deep grass— the wind, and the mirror
And her legs, oh so long, they can swing high and hither
Hither, so strong, in her heat
She can run, smiling along, as she goes and gets something to eat
