She has sex with him
at least three times a “weak.”
Thinks that if she keeps him engaged,
he won’t want to leave.
.
Remembers her father saying
he would be back,
going to the store
and disappearing for days
lost in the self-worth he lacked.
.
Thinks that her mother
drove her father away,
that if she can be
sexy enough,
woman enough,
perfect enough,
her husband will want to stay.
.
She believes the narratives
in the media,
narratives that sell
a self-destructive truth.
If she loses 11 more pounds,
she might just be good.
.
Enough for him,
for herself.
.
She waxes
and sprays,
plucks
and shades,
injects
and alters,
because the truth is
she hates what she
sees, and she falters.
.
In a world constructed
to de-construct
beauty
she believes
perfection lies
in a plastic flower.
.
In a world
saturated with L’Oréal
and COVERGIRL
there’s nothing Real
about Covering a
Girl’s power.
.
She obsesses about the
dark circles under
her eyes,
cellulite that
deforms her perception
of perfect thighs.
.
The softness of her
midriff shames,
it’s her pregnancies she blames.
.
Her mother taught
her to share,
to care for others, and
to dare,
but she forgot to
teach her to
love herself,
to see herself in front of
the mirror and
unconditionally bare
.
the parts of her body
society
has taught her to hate,
because she will never
be good enough,
.
she will never
be good enough
in her shape.
.
It’s crazy cuz the
natural brown of her
skin
is a societal discriminant
unless it’s a tan,
then it’s accepted as
Societal advance.
.
Except in Mexico or Philippines
where the working class
yearns to whiten their skin,
darkened by the hue of the soil
wished they could change their kin.
.
The natural plumpness
of her lips
is too afro-centric
unless
it’s created with implants
or injectable fillers
because that’s
what’s accepted.
.
She is hyper-sexualized
and then
marginalized for
having sex too early,
contradicting messages
that have her twisted
morally.
.
Told her sexuality
is a sin
and blamed for the
depravation of men.
.
She’s been reduced
to sexual pleasure,
her body the object
of measure.
.
But she yearns for
a spiritual connection,
to be made love to
in the depths of her soul
for who she really is
only there
will anyone know.
.
She doesn’t fulfill
the physical demands
society has constructed
to see herself as
beautiful.
.
Her daughters notice
and soon enough
their own beauty
becomes mutable.
.
You see
our natural beauty is not
reproducible,
natural recognizes
that only nature
Can produce such magnificence.
.
Irreducible
to sodium hydroxide
relaxers and dyes
flat irons, Spanks,
and contacts that
color eyes.
.
Es Negrita pero esta bonita.
Es gordita pero es de buen corazón.
Thank you, but she doesn’t need
you to Justify what’s
already perfect.
In learning to love herself,
she has stopped searchin’.
.
Do me a favor and
Just Defy
the archetype of
a physique that only serves
misogynistic lies.
.
I once heard a quote in a movie:
“If God created the world, how do we know
what things we can change and
what things must remain sacred?”
.
As long as we continue
to deny our divine beauty
we will be lost in self-hatred.
Mike Theiss
She has sex with him
at least three times a “weak.”
Thinks that if she keeps him engaged,
he won’t want to leave.
.
Remembers her father saying
he would be back,
going to the store
and disappearing for days
lost in the self-worth he lacked.
.
Thinks that her mother
drove her father away,
that if she can be
sexy enough,
woman enough,
perfect enough,
her husband will want to stay.
.
She believes the narratives
in the media,
narratives that sell
a self-destructive truth.
If she loses 11 more pounds,
she might just be good.
.
Enough for him,
for herself.
.
She waxes
and sprays,
plucks
and shades,
injects
and alters,
because the truth is
she hates what she
sees, and she falters.
.
In a world constructed
to de-construct
beauty
she believes
perfection lies
in a plastic flower.
.
In a world
saturated with L’Oréal
and COVERGIRL
there’s nothing Real
about Covering a
Girl’s power.
.
She obsesses about the
dark circles under
her eyes,
cellulite that
deforms her perception
of perfect thighs.
.
The softness of her
midriff shames,
it’s her pregnancies she blames.
.
Her mother taught
her to share,
to care for others, and
to dare,
but she forgot to
teach her to
love herself,
to see herself in front of
the mirror and
unconditionally bare
.
the parts of her body
society
has taught her to hate,
because she will never
be good enough,
.
she will never
be good enough
in her shape.
.
It’s crazy cuz the
natural brown of her
skin
is a societal discriminant
unless it’s a tan,
then it’s accepted as
Societal advance.
.
Except in Mexico or Philippines
where the working class
yearns to whiten their skin,
darkened by the hue of the soil
wished they could change their kin.
.
The natural plumpness
of her lips
is too afro-centric
unless
it’s created with implants
or injectable fillers
because that’s
what’s accepted.
.
She is hyper-sexualized
and then
marginalized for
having sex too early,
contradicting messages
that have her twisted
morally.
.
Told her sexuality
is a sin
and blamed for the
depravation of men.
.
She’s been reduced
to sexual pleasure,
her body the object
of measure.
.
But she yearns for
a spiritual connection,
to be made love to
in the depths of her soul
for who she really is
only there
will anyone know.
.
She doesn’t fulfill
the physical demands
society has constructed
to see herself as
beautiful.
.
Her daughters notice
and soon enough
their own beauty
becomes mutable.
.
You see
our natural beauty is not
reproducible,
natural recognizes
that only nature
Can produce such magnificence.
.
Irreducible
to sodium hydroxide
relaxers and dyes
flat irons, Spanks,
and contacts that
color eyes.
.
Es Negrita pero esta bonita.
Es gordita pero es de buen corazón.
Thank you, but she doesn’t need
you to Justify what’s
already perfect.
In learning to love herself,
she has stopped searchin’.
.
Do me a favor and
Just Defy
the archetype of
a physique that only serves
misogynistic lies.
.
I once heard a quote in a movie:
“If God created the world, how do we know
what things we can change and
what things must remain sacred?”
.
As long as we continue
to deny our divine beauty
we will be lost in self-hatred.
Alma de Colibrí 