I Heart MY Body
My second spoken word piece - That you can hear me speak here.

In a world that doesn't speak MY truth
Where is it that I start?
It shouldn't be any weirder than saying EYES
Or 'lungs'
Or 'heart'
And yet, we don't say it LOUD
We don't say it proud
We don't call things by their proper name
Instead, we reel, Victorian hangovers of embarrassment and shame
I don't have a 'fanny'
A 'foo foo'
Or 'lady bits'
The world must accept that I have more than one set of lips
They're abandoned by some textbooks
Overlooked by 'educators'
Even relatively well-taught peeps persist in calling them 'vaginas'
What's wrong with saying VULVA?!
It's not lewd - Not gross - Not vulger
It's not even techinically incorrect
Try it - Use it - Roll it around
It's not even technically incorrect
Don't be so circumspect
During this era of disconnect - from ancestral wisdom
Mind and Body harmony..
REACH for insightful and uplifting imageray
Spoken word projects
Inclusive, artistic photography
Or
Weep;
For generations of women
Raised uncertain
Words unspoken
Fearing distortion
Seeking surgery
For normaility
We have to see that this is wrong!
Right?
How can we love you, if we don't know what you're called?
How can THEY respect you, if they don't know what your name is?
I want MORE for MY daughters
For knowledge to be their power
Respect to be their RIGHT
I want them to know their bodies - LOVE their bodies
Command their own free will - without a fight
So come on world, wake up!
It's time, for enlightened education
And not just from their school..
Perpetuating infant-speak is a very long way from cool
lets use basic anatomical terms in a baby-making context
Build from our low-foundation of penis in vagina
Let's talk about what happens after sex
Grow an accurate lexicon for all the happens next
Because, without language as descriptors, we lose respect for all the rest
So,
The vulva lips are labia
Majora and minora
enclosing the entrance to our famoud friend, vagina
Sometimes these lips are wider - short - long or flat
Whatever their appearance - KNOW they're PERFECT just like that
They can be light, dark or multiple shades
Labia size, shape and colour also change as we age
They can alter when we're pregnant
Temporary or permanent
Our vulva lips;
Our genital encasement
Containing all our external reproductive equipment
Also enclosed in those unique labia, for us;
Are...
The anus, urethra and external clitoris
Ahhh - The infamous clitoris
Know this important distinction in describing the structure -
What we see and feel outside are merely a small piece of its picture
The depths and complexity within us;
Another anatomical misrepresentation!
Primed for ecstatic childbirth
Not just sex and masterbation
Well versed in the latters
Climatic pleasurable sensation
it's likely the roots are in evolutionary procreation
The vulva houses it all - keeps it mostly hidden - safe from damage
Then, travelling internally;
We've a stretchy, muscular, vaginal passage
The uterus stores our monthly blood
Grows the babies - and their placenta
The cervix holding fast and strong - 'til babe's lungs send sign;
NOW's the time to meet her!
Beforehand, the cervix; is HARD - like the very TIP of your nose
Preparing to birth; Soften, Efface, Dilate - is how it goes
UNDISTURBED?
This happens naturally - at a pace as unique as you and me
Don't even get me started on intervention
We'll go there next time - shall we?
So - Wisdom teaches us to HONOUR and attend to ALL our cycles
Not divorce our bodies from their Earth
Form tribes of CONSUMPTION disciple
SEE the whole world progress through
Empowered - Respected CHILDREN
Learn FROM them with acceptance too
Elevate them to teacher and from their perspective - VIEW
And REFLECT upon our childhood selves
The adults we've become
Awaken from each cyclic phase a calmer, more peaceful one
Hear this call DEAR adults
With children and without
This planet's inheritors need assistance
And I can hear them SHOUT
Learn of natures cycles - the seasons and language for these
It's time to reacquaint ourselves - with humans and with trees
RESPECT for EVERY person
Dignity for the Earth
The time has come for all of us to DEMAND a better birth
So,
Teach THIS to the children - with transparency
RESPECT our youth
Then - BEHOLD their capacity
For teaching US HUMANITY
HEAR them SPEAK THE TRUTH.