by Natalie Patterson In honor of the inspiring questions received at our January event on body image and gender issues we present this poem by Natalie Patterson. I came across Natalie in this video by Soul Pancake where she reads a version at the end of the video. IT ROCKED MY WORLD. If celebrating the beauty and gift of your body is an aspiration of yours, I recommend following Natalie’s daily ritual … I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL BODY! Dr. Tina I Have A Beautiful Body
Sometimes When I am feeling disconnected from a crowd of people I’m standing in front of When they are staring at me but nothing about the interaction feels of love or understanding Not fun or joy I ask them to repeat after me “I am beautiful” And some are more reluctant than others I am beautiful should be a given Should be a place we begin from A foundation we are born into but sometimes messages get delivered like the post From a stranger always having a bad day A body should not beg for acceptance We walk around in these bodies These protective suits for our tender souls We walk around looking like tattered undelivered apology notes My flesh is exactly as I need it to be to keep my spirit intact Shiny But I have been roaming these streets thinking I understood the concept of beauty as it relates to me Thinking I am beautiful if only I were less or more Thinking If I weighed less these shallow fools would want to know me I’ve been hiding behind clothes trying to camouflage When myself and comfortable is all I’ve ever wanted to be But sometimes Comfortable is as lasting as a love I lost long ago She said “You have a beautiful body” I could not comprehend the words It was the first time in my entire life I had ever heard these words placed together and directed at me When im confused I take big ideas and break them into smaller pieces Make them tiny enough to fit my world into You have a beautiful body YOU Meaning me Meaning Natalie Patterson Daughter of Joe Frank and Lynne Meaning mid-west, American, black girl With skin and eyes light enough to confuse her own kind Meaning my own kind don’t recognize me You have a beautiful body HAVE implies ownership Meaning I, Natalie Patterson, own something I never paid for Meaning some things are free Meaning I didn’t earn it so I don’t know the value of it Might abuse or take it for granted You have a beautiful body A meaning one Meaning I, Natalie Patterson, own a single thing One irreplaceable thing that does indeed die You have a beautiful body BEAUTIFUL meaning pleasing or satisfying Meaning I am appealing and desirable Didn’t know that Have always been pretty with a “but if you only” attached Never been just beautiful Stated as fact You have a beautiful body BODY meaning physical structure A place the spirit is held in And I have never held even my lovers long enough to be good at it You have a beautiful body I will repeat these words until I am no longer reluctant Until these words are a given Until they are no longer foreign in my mouth I will repeat these words I have a beautiful body I have a beautiful body I have a beautiful body Until ownership becomes a privilege Until this skin becomes a perfect home Weathered and worn over time A perfect home Whose walls I know well Whose stair case And old floors creak my favorite song I am my own favorite song that I am just now learning all the words to But I wanna sing you Sing you til the song sticks I have a beautiful body period. Follow Natalie Patterson at natalieispoetry.com
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