we are so much more that just bodies..

We are the arms that carry our children 

keeping them safe and secure.                         A mothers comforting embrace   

Arms that’s reach out to help another in need

We are the legs that struggle along undulating paths     

That run in ecstatic nervousness into the beckoning ocean

Legs that will us to run when our mind said stop long ago

The knees that bend down to get to someone’s level, to somehow see the world through their eyes

We are tummys, perhaps rounder than before, poking out in glorious roundess   

Life being knitted together inside 

Or simply saying we are loved and we are fed 

We are the spines that labour day in                and day out to support us, to haul, to turn, to reach high                                                             Until it can carry us no longer 

We are the faces that hold another’s and tell them it’s going to be ok!

We are the lines around our eyes that tell us of a life lived in joy, in pain and everything in between              

We are the marks and spots that looked up to bath in the sun’s rays

We are the feet that feel the warm sand between our toes

We are the hands that pen stories   

Kneed dough        

Pick flowers for loved ones 

Paint a masterpiece 

Caress the skin of a lover

When we truly see at the wonders of our beautiful and complex bodies                           It’s hard to believe that we focus on the lumpy bits, the tummy that tells of childbirth, the bingo arms, the chubby cheeks, the not so perfect teeth.       

Where did this idea of the perfect body come from?

To me     

You’re perfect, because you have lived and because you have breath in your body 

Miraculous breath, proof that you exist   

And you exist in your magical, strong and resilient body.

Please 

Respect it

Nourish it 

Say you’re sorry for those mean things you have said about it

Treat it like a treasure 

Like a dear friend 

Be at peace with your amazing, perfect body.

Be forever free my friend,

X Gem X