My body, the fortress

Previously published in On Being in Your Body's A Collection of Narratives

My body, the fortress.

My body, the protector of my heart

The structure of my bones

The vessel in which my brain controls

My body

The comforter

The way my fat rests upon itself

In times of sleep

The way it spreads across my sheets

Like a satellite in a pitch black ocean

Of stars and other bodies that shine

Like mine

And other cosmic entities

That twirl around the sun

Like mine

And other masses

Too big for minds to truly comprehend

Like mine

My body, the canvas

Decorated with scars from innocence

Scars from hatred

Scars of stretching beyond my means

Whatever that means

My body, the putty

That you thought you could take your calloused hands to

And mold it into whatever you wanted me to be

Skinny

Dainty

Pure

But the thing about my body

Is that it can bounce back

To whatever form it wanted to take

Melting into its own

My body, the kingdom

Ruler of energy

Commander of passion

Controller of wherever I go

The vessel of my cells

The cells that keep me alive

My body, the forgiver

Of all the mean things my brain said

My body, the encompassing

Of all things wholesome and toxic

My body,

My black, fat, beautiful body

Standing tall

Standing proud

With fists that punch out unwanted spotlights

And feet to stomp out hatred

My body, my home

My body

Mine.