Inherited Hues

Brown hair and matching eyes come alive in a tribal dance of meaning and ancestral significance.

Stubborn cells of fat create rolling hills and valleys on my body- they are inherited protection, abundance in scarcity, and a striking landscape.

Uneven eyebrows- one of them more arched than the other; a reminder of my grandmother who passed them on to me.

Shades of earth bleed into my skin. I am a living canvas, painted by the blended hues of mountain mothers and foreign fathers.

Stretch marks flow throughout the panorama of my body like life-giving rivers and streams

Mountainous cheekbones adorne a sun-kissed face that’s dotted with pores; a sloping nose blooms into full lips- an ode to all sides of my heritage.

The powerful body of great grandmothers, the wide eyes of great grandfathers- I am a portrait of my people;

A people who gave me a strong, wise body to weather the harsh winters of life and to carry me on from season to season.

My fingers and toes drip roots that sprawl and spread all the way back to a sacred place they call a ‘Distant Time’- and it’s like I am there.

This body is a map of the past, the poetry of the present, and a vessel for the future

This body was sculpted out of stardust and little bits of Everything

This body is living, breathing expression- a song singing lyrics that honor my Source.

This body is a home; a village that joyfully embraces newcomers and steadily cares for old-stayers

This body is a colourful quilt stitched together with the fabric of consciousness and the thread of my ancestors- she is the fruit of nature, and, one day, she will reverently return to it.

I Am wrapped, safely, within this holy poem of a body and I have finally let her Be.