Poems by Linda M. Crate

love the skin you’re in

i used to hate my body

because it was not like those

of models or actresses

despised my eyes because

they were brown and not blue

my hair because it was

gold, red, and brown

without being just one of these

like all the other girls i admired;

just wanted my body to be

anything other than what it was

used and abused it cruelly

told it that it was ugly

like people always made me feel

and said that i was—

but one day i realized i had pretty eyes

that i liked my smile, and my body

was a temple so i had to treat her nicely;

the day i decided to love myself

everything started falling into place

sometimes i still struggle but mostly i’ve

learned to embrace my scars, my curves,

my body for everything she is

instead of hating her for everything she’s not

because we’re all beautiful in our own ways

we live, we create, we survive

so i’m using my words to heal not wound.

lovely & unique

i want someone

to appreciate my body

from my head to my toes

not just as an object

of sexual desire,

but truly appreciate it

for everything it is and see my scars

as the wounds that couldn’t

take me down and kill me in this

hectic and short paradise called life;

i want someone to see

that my beauty doesn’t just shine

in my face but my heart and soul, too;

to see that my body is the temple

from which i pour my blessings

into the cups of others—

just want someone to appreciate me as i am

instead of telling me to lose weight

or to wear make up or to simply change

everything i am to suit their needs

because my body is a temple lovely and unique.

About the Poet

Linda M. Crate‘s works have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies both online and in print. She has four published chapbooks the latest of which is entitled My Wings Were Made to Fly (Flutter Press, September 2017) and she is the author of the Magic Series. The latest book of that series published is Corvids & Magic (Ravenswood Publishing, March 2017).