A Walk in the World--
Today on my walk, I heard singing. As I walked closer, past the farm and the forest, there were two men building a house. From their pick-up, an old song from The Outfield (Josie's on a vacation far away...) I was amazed at how well they sounded with their voices echoing off the evergreens and mountains. They didn't see me as I passed and I imagined their world of nails and wood must be like my writing world where I move almost (if not) into a meditative state and the world continues on
What I'm Reading--
Writing Like a Woman (Poets on Poetry) by Alicia Ostriker. Published a while ago, but still relevant. One interesting idea is how women write about their bodies. As a young poet, she said an older male poet was put-off by this in her poems. As girls, our bodies are something that can't be ignored. Monthly, they must be listened to. As we get older, we have to be aware of what they are doing if we want to or don't want to become pregnant. Once pregnant they do incredible things, they create a cocoon to hold life and for nine months, they live with two heartbeats.
Having just read Kinky by Denise Duhamel, I've been thinking about how we have these fantastic bodies and some choose to stuff them with silicone, to put poison about their brows, to cut and move skin higher, tighter. After my daughter was born, I remember thinking I can only praise my body from this point on. How do we become so confused to think that we are more beautiful when we are artificial?
And I'm not saying, don't wear make-up or wear flattering clothes, the black spaghetti-strap dress with stilettos. What I'm saying is, everyone doesn't have to look like a Barbie doll, we don't need bland beauty of perfect noses, big eyes, or a certain cup size. We don't need to all be of the same mold, and that's the concern. A few weeks ago, Dirty dancing was on TV and I thought about Jennifer Grey having her nose done. I can't recognize here anymore, she just one of many.
I guess I'm concerned how easy it is to think we're not each perfect as we are, that the nose job, the liposuction, the puffy lips will somehow change things, that your problems won't be your problems if only you had the right face, the right smile, the right size jeans.
