The body my soul resides in
Came to myself secondhand
From my mother and my mothers mother
I carry what they carried
The young girl that took care of this body first full of fire and compassion
She did not know the world and what it wants from her. she knew only herself.
The tomboy they grew into piloted it like it was strong, fast, and belonged to them alone.
The body was taken. The body became like a stranger. The body changed forms.
It became a foreign language i could not easily speak
They gave me words that were not from my tongue.
The self learned to shrink.
The body Shrank Sank Drowned
The whispers of the deep waters around me grasped the body like a siren saying
I have a plan for you- daughter, sister, wife, mother. you will belong to someone.
Leave him behind like secondhand clothes that have been soiled,
I will tell you what you will be. What you will want. you will belong to someone.
I shapeshifted But the core remained the same
i lived in the world that wanted to shape me in the hope she would be accepted
as she wears the figure the world likes best
The pieces i carved from myself were not enough
The world takes what it wants
the body that was supposed to be mine/someone else takes
The autonomy/a man takes. The decisions/ a man takes.
The strength and health/a man takes. My labour. The world takes.
Must I be a man to own my own body?
Is every woman's body secondhand? Shared property?
Must I give my body to have someone to care for me?
Is there a body without the violence and expectations of gender?
Must this body's womb bear children to have a family?
My secondhand body has been with me since the gift of life.
My secondhand body has lived many lives.
I am her, the woman my body carries, she belongs to me.
I am him. The protector of the body. I will make the decisions now.
I am them, this body is their home.
With the scuff marks and scars, the art, the secondhand furniture, the burdens and joys
This body is mine now. I am their home.
I will cherish it. I will care for it. I will decorate as I see fit.
I will open the windows and let the light reflect on the dust.
dededos
romaincrisis
yousharknotpass
theartofmadeline
titsay
stormborns
kaledo-art
