B M I

for janae

 

 

 

My daughter

 

has

 

a body image problem.

 

She told me, over Cheerio's,

 

that she wants to be

 

a normal weight like the

 

other girls in class.

 

Simple enough to cure

 

I thought, just tell her it's ok,

 

you look just fine.

 

Eventually you'll fill out

 

and

 

wish for a time when the

 

wind whipped

 

your skinny, little a*s around

 

like wheat in a pleasant valley.

 

 

 

The sciences that deal with the earth

 

or one or more of it's parts

 

I never did quite understand.

Reviews

[zainul]

Hi Dana,
Enjoyed your amazing poem.
I adore your lovely way to depict science.
You must be a fortunate mom too who cares for her girl child's aspirations.
I congratulate Janae when The International Year of Girl Child is being celebrated by the United Nations for the first time.

[Tree]

Just revisiting one of my favorite pieces. Funny how re reading a poem can give you something new, or maybe just remind you again how you felt the first time, you read it.. The tenderness of the moment. The need to document. It's all here.
Diego

[writing mojo]

such a heart felt way to explain the weight of science to a child imagination not ready for the gravity of life...amazing stuff

[caesarkreshen]

Eventually you'll fill out

and

wish for a time when the

wind whipped

your skinny, little a*s around

^^ haha.

[Corset]

I love those lines "Eventually you'll fill out

and

wish for a time when the

wind whipped

your skinny, little a*s around

like wheat in a pleasant valley."

she won't pay them any mind but the analogy is astounding, beautiful use of metaphor, and pretty much where I am right now, lol, wishing I was whipped wheat, There are no magic words for girls this age, just lots of love.

[Emily B]

how do we teach our daughters to love themselves, inside and out? when you find the magic words, share them please

[Tree]

Dana I had to smile when I read this one, love the tone How
you slow the reader down, then make a point. That last stanza honoring
the fact that some things are out of our reach, out of our control
was deft