a love note to my body

my right leg is drastically less muscular than my left.
& she has 2 screws in her.
my breast implants are rippled after 8 years of wear.
& my nipples have tiny black hairs i refuse to pluck anymore.
i have three little happy trail hairs leading down to my generally lush unshaven mons pubis.
& my labia minora is far from minora.
my body has had 2 major surgeries on my right leg.
& i have 7 scars to prove it.
my left side second earring hole is lower than my right.
& it often drives me crazy.
i have memory holes where my old belly button piercings & dermals used to be.
..same for my ears, my tongue, & my nipples.
my nose has a perfectly flat ridge on the bump in its bridge.
& an old friend used to tell me be i’d be ‘perfect’ if i just got a nose job.

🧜🏼‍♀️ if i had to get rid of one tattoo, it’d be the ‘why go through life unnoticed?’ cheesy quote from AquaMarine (the mermaid movie from when i was 17)

..but then i remember how sweet i was when i wanted that.

& how it helped me claim my uniqueness & wild spirit.

that’s how i feel about all of these pieces of me.

i once had on a new sweater when hanging with a friend. she spilled something on it & she saw me about to be upset so she said,

‘it’s a memory. you’ll remember for as long as you have it.’

besides her invalidating my experience😹, i really appreciated that gift of a reframe for my perfectionist virgo brain.

this body..

my body…

(your body)

(our collective body)

is a moving, walking piece of art.

she is a collection of everything you have ever done, been, chewed & swallowed.

she remembers where you’ve been, what you did last summer, & who you did it with & for.

she knows..you.

she loves..you.

may you honor her for carrying you through the years.

may you see the stretch marks as growth.

may you keep your pubic hair & ask your lover to rub their nose in it.

may you lick your own toes & kiss your dirty feet.

may you love her.

may you walk with her.

in her.

as her.

my body is my best friend 💓
i trust yours will be, too.