As a woman, of Indian, Caucasian and African American decent, I am appalled at how easily we, women, call the media to dictate our perception of ourselves.

Not only will we allow status and superficial goals to drive our morality, it's sad that we allow the media to contribute to insecurity.

Which prompts me to question, how lost are we?

As women of God, and as a women in general, no matter what race, color or religion, we have allowed man-made ideals to validate our self-worth.

Why?

Well that's an easy for me to answer.

It's because we can't possibly love ourselves. We can't possibly know ourselves, if we so easily change our perception of ourselves to fit the masses.

Our drive has shifted, our moral and values lost in the ideals presented to us through the media. We mimic what we are not, to validate us!

It is so sad that we are lost. We desperately need to regain control of our minds.

So, I wrote a poem about beauty and the perception of beauty and what we should see when we are "Naked". I have posted the revisited poem below:

NAKED

As your bare

witnessing nude

Naked

you

not nude lips

cheeks and eyes

no make-up can hide

the truth in your eyes

void of mascara

shimmer and shine

your face speaks

the story of blemishes, moles and black eyes

you

can no longer hide

Naked

not nude

what thoughts flow through your mind?

what phrases find

The tip of your lips

as voice seeps

You try to keep your insecurities hidden

want to say positive things

But your criticism speaks

of how you hate

firm thighs

love made handles

and breast of any size

you fight back the desire to cry

depressed at how

marks stretched long and wide

share your story

the one you didn't want to tell

cellulite bears the pain

of memories held

and you continue to find the negative in the

frame

that has been with you in this walk of life

You cry

because for the first time you see

yourself

naked...

beauty

in the eyes of the beholder as our predecessors say

should be the driving force behind your desire to be great

morality defines value

and virtue

of a woman God ordained to carry life

and we are the immediate reflection of our past

we are the model for our future

yet man made perceptions taint

what we know as beautiful

so in the absence of the man who does not see

you

the woman of grace

with lack of fear in her eyes

the woman of strength

with lack of jealousy in her heart

the woman of life

with lack of hatred in her spirit

I say to you my sister

my daughter

my mother

and friend

I love you

and we are virtuous women

lover and barer of life

seekers of peace

and conscious minds

in active pursuit to be what God has defined as

femininity

#poeticallyspeaking #naked #poetry #lifescope #perception #media