bookboons: This Is My Body By Laura Williams

Saturday, January 20, 2024

This Is My Body By Laura Williams

The Rising Phoenix Review

Jan 20

This Is My Body

This is my body, I say,
as your eyes trail along my edges,
as your hands reach to touch.
I back away and you follow
because you've learned all your life
that what you want is yours to take.
This is my body,
I whisper, eyes closed,
but you've never listened to my voice.

Breathe in.
Hold it.
Breathe out.

Breathe in.
Murmur. This is my body.
Breathe out.
Weep. This is my body.
Breathe in.
Speak. This is my body.
Breathe out.
Shout. This is my body.
Breathe in.

I've learned all my life
that my body is not mine alone.
It belongs to your grasp, to your gaze,
to your desire and your disgust—
a prize to be won;
a thing to be owned.
You've learned all your life
that you're entitled to take
and I've been socialized to give and give.

Breathe in.
Hold it.
Breathe out.

This is my body, I say.
I am not
yours
to touch
to take
to own
or
to win.

This is my body.
I've given and I've given
but I've nothing left to give.
You've taken and taken—
that's your lesson learned
but I refuse to 'willingly' give anymore.

This is my body.
Keep your your
gaze ,hands
to yourself.

This is my body.
I'll not break it
for you.

By Laura Williams

Biography:

Laura Williams earned her doctorate at Louisiana State University, focusing on adult literacy and poetry. Her interests lie in poetry (the writing and reading of), reading anything that catches her fancy, photography, and collecting miscellaneous frivolities.