This lune chain was written for Poefusion’s Friday Five. This week’s words: appearance, defect, trellis, youngster, laundry. The title was taken from Ntozake Shange’s play, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Was Enuf”. Enjoy.
-Nicole
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you stand and
look at your reflection in
the bedroom mirror
looking back at
you is your usual disguise -
hair, clothes, makeup
what if you
could see beyond the mirror
to your soul?
you would see
that you are a trellis
bearing twisted vines
half-dried green
and gray vines carrying
ink-black flowers
insults dropped from
the lips of others which
bloom your defects
flowers pointing skyward
bursts of sick, open-mouthed
gossip and wounds
ugliness so commonplace
even youngsters are taught that
it is okay
to point and
whisper and even laugh at
the fat girl
appearance is everything
but the greater power is
simply to exist
time to clear
the dirty laundry out of
your wounded psyche
time to take
out the hose and wash
off the blood
from the thorns
driven deep into your flesh
by those vines
time to wash
out the fetid fecal fallacies
cluttering your soul
piles that send
up foul stench of insult
like “you’re fat”
or, “such a
pretty face, but if only…”
then blank silence
sentences never finished
but still driving the thorns
into your heart
I will arise
and shake off the kudzu
of their ignorance
I will stand
and refuse to shrink down
to abject nothingness
fat girls everywhere
I call out to you:
who’s with me?
Written 7/26/08
© 2008 Nicole Nicholson. All Rights Reserved.
I think everyone should be accepted for who they are on the inside, not the outside. If people would take the time they would see overweight people are beautiful. I also think that people with anorexia can be hurt by the words of others. I can only wish they find an inner happiness and feel better about themselves. Even when the odds are against them. Strong, provoking post. Have a nice night.
Thank you, Michelle!
-Nicole
I’ve been here before, but don’t think I ever posted a comment…sure meant to…I like your work. This really hits home with me, as someone who considers herself an independent, sexy, intelligent, successful person (who also has battled bulimia). I don’t define myself by it, but it has affected me on that great of a level that I would do such a ridiculous thing. I love the stanza “ugliness so commonplace/even youngsters are taught/it is okay” That is sadly quite true. I’ve known of girls as young as two who called themselves fat…and most recently I met a guy (who I thought was a really open-minded cat) who said, “Fat people use more gasoline.” WTF??? Even environmentalism is being used as a weapon…truly unbelievable…
ps..I’m with you lady!
ouch, that hurts just reading it… pain oozes out from between the lines… life is only for those who draw outside the lines of appearances… great stuff nicole…