Ink & Interruptions

“Too fat”

“Too round”

Sounds that

Pierce my skin

Thoughts, opinions

Claims

That my body bears

Claims made by strangers

That cling to my soul

Festering and boiling beneath

stretch marks too big to hide

Beautiful and strong

As the fetus moved and grew

Fearless as the due date drew near

…Now a child clings

To skin that is too loose

To hips that are too wide

To a breast that is too saggy

Now the beauty

Hangs below my waist

It wrinkles and bunches

When I bend

As quickly as the baby cried out

My body became

Ugly

Weak

Fearful

And afraid

Of claims that strangers

Place upon a body not theirs.

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Published in the 2021 issue of the Kaleidoscope: A Journal of Arts and Letters