Lovely Bones
In society’s image
Bones
Lovely bones but not the movie
that shit was wild and sad
My bones
my fingers reach for them
gently grazing across my body, my skin
I search for the protrusions that poke out
like mountain peaks
they’re easily found in my sack of flesh
and muscle
My fingers play them like ivory keys
they provide a sense of comfort
like a security blanket, you wrap yourself up in
when you’re feeling scared and lonely.
To see bones our society gasps —
she must be unwell!
But it’s the same society that placed her in these
shackles
Weighed down by the pressure to “be thin” in a
world that prizes, prioritizes, and praises slimness
as a woman’s highest mark on society.
My bones are an ever-present sign of society’s
mark upon my person
They are equal parts shame and comfort
consolation and degradation
solace and malice.
