Goddess Laid Bare

Naked in my skin, here I stand,
Made in the image of an almighty command.
Vulnerable, open, daring to be seen,
Unsure and uneasy of what it all means.
Peeling back these layers to my innermost heart,
Reveals the beauty with which I was imbued from the start.
Yet why is it that in these layers of flesh and skin,
Has my body suffered such torment for not being thin?
What cruelty have you endured, what judgment and shame,
As I have willingly participated in a most heinous game.
But as I sit with the rage and the grief, the sorrows within,
Shedding tears and fears, letting the light in,
Do I discover the most magnificent, glorious sight,
The body of the Goddess, naked and bright.
My skin is glowing now, radiating in luminescent swirls,
Enlivened and voluptuous like my womanly curls.
Oh, precious belly how clever you are that you have carried my children with love and longing both,
Breasts that have suckled them and inspired their growth.
The juicy deliciousness of this body that has endured so much,
Awakened through tender loving care and touch.
How could it be that I had forgotten that each and every part of all of me,
Is as wondrous and magical as any can be?
As I begin now to dance and moan with pleasure, the jewel in the lotus of my love,
Does an illumined light weave its gossamer thread from above?
For all of creation has waited for this moment here and now,
The irresistible lure of the Goddess is taking her bow.
The stage is set, as worlds upon worlds shall be birthed through a woman’s heart,
Laid bare in her nakedness as she was from the start.

Art Credit: Carla Goldberg with kind permission.