Hello,
body,
who has always required taming.
Soft belly who I have grown so averse to.
You have always been a squeaky wheel that needs fixing;
An obstacle to be grappled with.

Lower belly pouch,
This is a toast to you and the pocket of repellence you have been interpreted as.
You are, my love, a gathering of experiences and nourishment
A congregation of pleasures in this rich life.

I have grown exhausted of making alterations to my exterior.
Writing daily dissertations so I can simply tolerate you.

I am so tired of being hostile to my home.

How silly we are to overcomplicate love
Legal forms, caterers, and the same line spoken eagerly at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
All you have to do is ask
And just like that two silently become one
Simple solution for complex creatures

What was it like before comparison was compulsory? Who was I before self-hatred was so embedded into my being?

I assume we’ll always be at war,
Brain and body
Flesh and thoughts.
They’ve convinced you that your worth is in your womanhood.
Wider waist, tighter tummy, apple bottom ***.

I bask in your sun while it shines
Revel in all its glimmer and glory.
I do my best to bathe in all its beams.

For the nightfall will follow.
I will do my best to make peace with your apathetic disposition.
Accept the silhouette you embody.
I'm not sure I will ever be accustomed to this twilight.

How many poems about broken people will I write
Before I realize that I, too, am fragmented.
Equally, if not more liable for the war zones I have called love.