Home - A Poem on Body Positivity

How many times

Have I condemned my body,

Looked down upon it,

with rage and contempt

and absolute distaste

Said it was not

Slim enough

Beautiful enough

Plump enough

Curvy enough

No, certainly not good enough.

The society sets boundaries,

Years of conditioning,

The house of cards in which

Dwell my insecurities.

It is all a mirage.

The lines on my thighs,

Wrap around me like a vine

A sign that I have

Fallen

Grown

And risen.

They tell me to hate my epidermal dress

As if growth is profane.

I break the shackles of my beliefs,

Emerging anew.

How do I despise my sacred sanctuary?

When it has

Nourished me

Protected me

Cared for me

Nurtured me.

And contained all the joy that I've ever known.

These very hands have fed me and caressed my wounds

My belly is filled with the warmth of laughter

My feet, my solid foundation, have taken me places

My eyes have given me new perspectives

My heart, the power to love.

Hence I rise.

One by one I peel off the layers of my insecurities

And emerge as a butterfly.

Yet again I look down, with reverence and hallow

And whisper,

“Thank you,

My body,

You're the only home I know”.

~A.