Body Image Poems - Poems about Body Image

My Body Is My Friend

I stare timidly into the softly lit mirror,
Its gaze staring back at me unrecognizable.
I've been told this person is my friend,
But its reflection paints a different picture.
Its mixture mixes a mess of colors I never thought go together anyway.
A bit ghostly.
I trace its outline carefully -
A bump here, a dent there, extra padding everywhere -
So

The Enemy Within

The unseen ache,
the hollow feeling of being unseen.
To loathe each fragment of yourself,
a puzzle with no hands to mend it.

Like shattered glass filled to the brim,
spilling, cracking, never whole.
Distraction is a bandage too thin,
but the wound waits, watching.

Sometimes, I wonder if I was better off staying,
where thinness was a cruel kind of prize.
Mental health aside,

growing pains

growing pains...

and so she grew,
because that’s what we all do.
she reminded herself that 
her body
is her vessel.
it does more than just
exist
for a compliment, 
for a boy,
for a mirror
or for a photo.
she told herself that her size,
and the tightness of her clothes
were not indicators of failure.
the fullness of her belly,
would never determine her worth
she found comfort

Old Scars

I strip in the solitude of my room.
the mirror reflects secrets that I keep.
All the silent screams of my faint life’s doom,
visible unhealed scars  that hurt so deep.

Still I dream of you, naked in silence,
Nosy fingers deepening on my skin.
Scared of your rage when love stays in suspense,
Before your decree I  hide with

An Ode To the Fullness of My Belly

sweet decadent belly
how ever will you forgive me
i didn’t know
couldn’t know 
how to love you

i didn’t see that you were more than a belly
you were an entire person
an easy breezy lover girl committed to the pursuit of all things joyful

i used to joke that you were bottomless
an “animal” of your own 
what a gift that

Work of Art

My curls are the frame of my temple, my curves an embellishment.
My skin smooth as silk.
My lips fill with contaminate cherries.
Your impenetrable eyes flow everywhere like torrents of sweet waters, rummaging in my past, crumbling hidden memories of unrequited loves.
My shoulders are scaffolding that support my rose garden, 
infested with thorns and apparently fragile and

House of Mirrors

Walk in casually,
In a house of mirrors especially.
You might differ in shape and size,
But don’t worry life is just alike.
On the opposite wall,
You might see.
That’s a reflection of you. 
But not true exactly

Lines

I know each one, every line

My eyes trace them every day

From dawn’s light to dusk’s dark

One fascinates me, long, curved

It’s history hidden, for me to imagine, build a story

Bisected by others, short, shallow or deeper

Like stems of soft grass maybe

It lays there, reflects light, casts gentle shadow

But is one of many, unnumbered, multitudes

Sometimes still often

Mrs Potato Head

Mrs Potato Head
Mrs Potato Head's image surprised 
That can't be me it's someone else I see
I still feel young in my heart and pint-sized 
The mirror tells lies, it’s true believe me.

That can't be me it's someone else I see
She'd an idea that'd get weight shifted 
The mirror tells lies, it’s true believe me
Then cut

Social Media

Social media can be a great thing
It helps us connect with our friends and distant family
It educates us on issues around the world
That we aren’t able to see first-hand
It can teach us useful things, and keeps us entertained…

At the same time social media can be awful
It disconnects us from our surroundings
It distorts the way that

Black Beauty

BLACK BEAUTY

Beauty is said to be in the eyes of the beholder,
But why do I need to wait to be “beholden”?
For those of us who are bolder, and know better,
Whose skin tones and body types do not fit 
society’s vision and portrayal on mainstream media,
of the beauty “beheld”,
We cannot wait to become the perfect complexion,
The

What Size

In my teens nothing bothered me,
Size 10 I could eat what I wanted,
My weight wasn’t something I worried about,

In my twenties and in my prime,
Size ten to twelve I watched what I ate,
Aerobics and weightlifting became my thing,
To keep my flat tum and tight bum,

In my thirties and two kids later now a twelve to

Poolside Reverie

i remember
being by the pool
i was no more than ten
my grandmother
was enjoying herself
chatting and laughing
suddenly
i caught
myself thinking

it will be nice
to get to that age
and not care
what my body
looks like

what !

even at that age
i knew
there was something
wrong

they had gotten
to me

i was already
brainwashed



AP: Honorable Mention 2021

Posted on March 4, 2021

Perfect

The true fact is
No one
Is perfect
But somehow
There is a perfect image
For people 
To recreate
It's not fair
It unrealistic
And it's unachievable 
So 
Even though 
We
Try
To recreate
The 
“Perfect”
Image
We still 
Know we can’t

Which 
Leads us to
Doubt

This 
Image
Leads us to
A pretty
And
An ugly
It leads us to
A right 
And 
A wrong
It leads us to
A fat 
And
A skinny

The thing is
Everyone is looking 
For

It's Ironic That It's Called the Throne

bowed before you once again
i’m worshipping you 
when i said i wouldn’t 

bent in half
i’m surrendering both my dinner 
and my fears

knelt down before you
my legs tremble 
my hands and chin drip

hunched over you
i am obedient
under your tyrannical rules 

there will be no revolution today

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