by Tina Marks Shirley
I see it as a living miracle
This is my skin
Not perfectly smooth nor flawless
I got chickenpox
From my daughter
She was 2; I was 27
The virus went to my spine
I
could have died
I didn't
A miracle
These are my eyes
With wrinkles around them
And dark circles
My
child has been sick most of her life
I spent my nights comforting her
And my days working to support her
She is a healthy young woman now
We
made it
A miracle
This is my hair
Wet and finger-combed most days
And my fingernails
Unpainted and dirtied
Symbols
Birth, death and rebirth
Miracles
These are my breasts
Un-"improved"
Not perfectly sized or shaped
They produce the purest form of nourishment known to mankind
A miracle
This is my hara
It's not flat
And bears a large scar
After 16 hours
of labor
My baby almost died
I did what I had to
To give her
life
I wear it proudly - as a symbol
Of
A miracle
These are my hips
They're curvy
And a little wide
They carried a
baby
In safety and comfort
On her journey to this world
A miracle
These are my legs
Not long or lithe, as I might like
I've always had to
leap higher
Walk faster
To keep pace
With the strides of other
dancers
And the world
They are connected to my soul
And together
they bring forth artistic beauty
To me and to other tiny dancers
Because
of my stature
I am able to be closer to them
And to animals and
flowers
To seashells
Closer...
To miracles
These are my feet
My second toe is longer than the first
I have no nail,
to protect my pinkie toe
True to its name, it's always pink
The bottoms
of my feet
Wrinkled and dry
All in all
I've walked miles upon
miles
Of sandy beaches
In my lifetime
I've studied the sea for hours
upon end
Miracles
This is my heart
It is riddled with holes
They've have had to heal from
the inside out
Can you see them?
I see them as tiny portals
That
allow love to pour out
Just a little freer
In many directions
All at
once
A miracle
THIS is my body
I think you get it.
Don't you?
Tina M. Marks Shirley is a Certified Instructor of Integrative Yoga Therapy, and Usui Reiki practitioner. You can read more about Tina at her site: ready-set-free.
Read Square-Peg-People's interview of Tina M. Marks Shirley!

