“Read the scars on my body like braille, for I no longer know how to tell a story that belongs deeply to me but is no longer mine.”

Somewhere inside my throat lives your ache.

I like to trace the ghosts of your fingers on the back of my hand. They read- I don’t know how to hold without you.

I pocket grief and it beckons me like a lover.

My silhouette is an ocean, your lips a sailor.

There is a calmness in not knowing.

Every beauty mark, a country to roam. Every stretch mark, a river to cross.

I loved you in quiet because to hide is to pretend that it is okay.

Allow me to introduce myself, A warning and a welcoming all at once.

We are so much more than skin can hold.

When I look in the mirror, I don’t see a poem.

I have lived too many lives to be only one thing, and instead of attempting to mesh them into a form of a human being, I have decided to love every jagged edge of mine.

I don’t like how your embrace feels like comfort till the knife thrust.

I always wanted to be more than my brown skin, when you told me I was sweet like cinnamon.

If you wish to read the story of my people look no further than my body.

I am only beautiful when my legs are open and I have forgotten my mother tongue to make room for yours.

Love transcends oceans and I love you in every country we are both made of.

Even the flowers are jealous of the curves of her body.

Stress cannot enter your body, mind, and soul without your permission.

Love yourself as you are, and take care of your body. Your body is the temple of your soul.

I don’t need the best hairstyle or the best body. Just give me a ball at my feet and I’ll show you what I can do.

Self-love is the best medicine for mind, body, and peace.

Law and order are the medicine of the body politic and when the body politic gets sick, medicine must be administered.

I mostly just listen to my body.

You’re the shadow of my body and shadow never leaves, no matter how strong the storms are.