self-love

Day 322: Mystic Women

They pull at your coat
a way to drag you
down and back,
place you safely
in your box.
If only they could
remove the garment
of power you wear.

But what they don’t
understand is you
do not wear power,
you are the strength
of the universe made flesh.
They cannot rip it from you.

It is trying to claim
Air from the skies,
It surrounds you,
fluid and life-giving.

Freely shared to all,
who dare to breathe deeply.

© Manivillie Kanagasabapathy

AN: Apologies for the repost- hit post  instead of save by mistake. Thank you

Advertisements

Day 233: Why am I afraid to Own my Face?

Why am I afraid to own my face
To own the scars
To see the full image
Instead of presenting glimpses
Of eyes
Lips
Ears
Hands
As if the absence of
The whole
Will make the sums
Greater
As if a part of me
Is all of me.

© Manivillie Kanagasabapathy

Day 67: Scars

Some scars
Are hidden behind layers of fear
Because you know
You should be over it by now
And yet the wound keeps bleeding
Toxic in its waste
Spewing venomous sounds
That build to words of doubt
Cripple the tongue
As it tries to deny
That this pain is not real
And this pain is no more.

Brave face forward
Move so fast
They can’t catch you
You won’t hear the words
That are said
The rejection of all you are
Rooted in high school memories
Childish taunts.

Pause

Take a deep breath
Say the thoughts
Before they are articulated
Throw up the walls
And wait.
And wait.
And wait…

Judgement in eyes,
Too slowly hidden
Connotations of an identity
Not born of the norm
Fears of being unique
Uncontrolled and savage
The abhorrence rides you
Chasing you like a thief
With unwanted bread
But still haunted because
It is not yours to take.

And so you keep running
Past the acceptance
Away from the love
Giving wounds no time to heal
Welcoming pain as the norm
Until you run out of track
Exhausted body lying on the Earth.

Here is the choice
Be an exhausted dust hidden body,
Or rise again
And race back to all
You feared to take.
​

© Manivillie Kanagasabapathy

Day 56: Beauty

You would be so pretty,
If you straightened your hair
You would be so pretty,
If you just wore some makeup
You would be so pretty,
If you walked like a lady
You would be so pretty,
If your skin weren’t so dark
You would be so pretty,
If you lost a few pounds

But Wait…

I would be so pretty.
If I stopped listening
I would be so pretty.
If I smiled at my reflection
I would be so pretty.
If I wore my own style
I would be so pretty.

But Then…

I would only be pretty
So keep your pretty petty words
Because
I am fresh, fierce and confident
I am me and I am beautiful

© Manivillie Kanagasabapathy

AN: I am ridiculously attached to this poem. I originally wrote this piece in March of 2011 and it was the one the reinvigorated my love of write. To be honest, It was the first real poem I had written since 2006. I was lucky enough to have this poem and others published in a writing anthology called Beyond the Journey: Women’s Stories of Settlement and Community Building in Canada in 2013.