I lumber sluggishly,
dragging the weight of my body.
Every pound is tethered to me,
I can’t escape the heaviness.

I am stuffed into clothes,
encased in figure-hugging fabric
that looks better on the hanger
than my rounded, fleshy torso.

The scale is an unlucky lottery ticket
displaying a number
that I will carry around
shamefully like a scarlet letter.

I count calories like beads on a rosary,
making sure I shrink to conformity
critical of every extra curve
because to love my size is a societal sin.

Airbrushed beauty queens
and slender starlets
wear their size 0 like a badge of honor
in the battlefront of glossy magazine covers.

I’m crushed with the weight of the world I inhabit
a place that teaches girls to be self-conscious
of each pound that sticks to their body
instead of teaching them to be confident in their own skin.

I’m tired of micromanaging each nutrient that touches my lips,
to achieve a slender frame that resists my big-***** body
self love is not a one-size-fits-all
and I will radically adore every ounce that is tethered to me.

She looks down at her body
And closes her blue eyes
It takes all of her self-control
To not start crying
Because as these girls are proclaiming
How proud they are to be skinny
The only thing she can think is
“I’m trying to be okay with myself.”
Because as she looks at her toes,
She sees her *******
And her stomach
And her feet
She thinks she’s so fat
Or so ugly
But so do caterpillars
Before they realize their potential
For butterflies

You are so much more than photoshopped bodies.
You are a spine that gets you up off the ground when you’re ready to fight back
you are the legs that walk away when enough is enough.
You are the arms that reach out when you need someone else.
You are the heart that loves them, and forgets to keep a little love for yourself sometimes.

You are so much more than your scars,
you are the blood that runs beneath them
you are every single cell in your body
fighting to keep you alive.
You are so much more than the branches on your stomach and your thighs.
You are your voice, your dreams and your fiery heart.

You are so much more than a strangers scoff
you are the strength that ignores it.
You are so much more than a slur,
you are the courage that fights it.