How to Love Your Body

  1. Polish a bronze moon-disc, see yourself reborn through Egyptian eyes.

    2.  

  2. Marvel at how the shape of your ears resembles handles of a porcelain cup.

    3.  

  3. Recall night swimming — the first time tight-laced limbs learned                        
    buoyancy in the dark.

    4.  

  4. End the day on a sleigh bed for adventure while dreaming, dip sheet corners in jet
    — trace arrows, fire, and flowers on your wrists instead of scars.

    5.  

  5. Share it with someone worthy, yet err on the side of orgasm.

    6.  

  6. Forgive its trespasses & those who have trespassed against it. Know temptation            
    lives in your shoulder’s cup.

    7.  

  7. Adorn it with pattern, ink, & polish — stud it with jewels & millinery.

    8.  

  8. Grow a crown of silver.

    9.  

  9. Let your hands be raven-winged, the wood thrush play your throat like a harp.

    10.  

  10. Honor wildness — raise the ocean in your blood.

    11.  

  11. Remember the stars in your veins, your plumed ribcage.

    12.  

  12. Remember you are a rare bird.

 

 

 

 

Note: arrows, fire, and flowers taken from Pablo Neruda’s poem “La Poesía”

 
 
 

Kelly Cressio-Moeller’s poetry can be seen at Boxcar Poetry Review, burntdistrict, Crab Orchard Review, Gargoyle, Poet Lore, Rattle, Southern Humanities Review, THRUSH Poetry Journal, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and ZYZZYVA among others. Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best New Poets, and Best of the Net. She is an Associate Editor at Glass Lyre Press. Visit her website at www.kellycressiomoeller.com