This is my body (a poem for Pride)
There was a time When I wouldn't let my body See the light of day. It was wrong It was less than It was other. Let me introduce you To my acne scars, Reminders of adolescent breakouts That stayed around for too many years as uninvited guests. And here are my stretch marks From gaining weight And losing weight And gaining weight And losing weight And, well, you get the idea. Be careful not to go blind When the light hits my Porcelain skin And it's thick dusting of Ginger hair, but This. Is. My. Body. Those words trickle down Through liturgy and scripture And tradition and maybe They mean more than just Words of institution. Maybe it's time to stop hiding What's going on underneath And wear my scars and my marks And not let what I assume others see Influence what I see. Because my acne scars aren't written Across my face like they Could have been. This. Is. My. Body. My stretch marks tell a story Of how I have failed but