BEAUTIFUL WOMEN

thick thighs
frizzy hair
hangnails ragged and torn
crooked toes
gapped teeth
ignored

forgotten
we strut with gusto
parades of one

while onlookers pause and gape
restrain themselves
from falling into step
begging us to wait
to waltz 
to waltz with them

lusty, composted 
full blown love
glistens on our skins
shines from our eyes

honours all we greet
the butterfly, the beetle
the blade of grass
welcomed

the child, adolescent, adult
regaled, celebrated
released like balloons

into the world
leading their own parades
handing out their own
noisemakers and party hats

braying brashly 
or mute with elation
look at me 
look at me
this is what it looks like
to feel beauty full

© Dawna Proudman