You
want…to photography…my back?
You want…to photograph…my back?
Not this beautiful smile
That wins the confidence of strangers,
And help when I don’t really need it?
You want to photograph my back?
Not this lovely face
That refuses to age,
That won me a Homecoming Queen crown?
You want to photograph my back?
Not these tiny feet,
Stunted and deformed by polio,
But often conjuring (complimentary) comparison to submissive
Chinese women whose feet have been bound?
You want to photograph my back?
Not my petite (child-like) frame, that makes men protect
me…And want me?
Not my scarred legs that live in photographs in medical journals?
Not the gorgeous breasts that I proudly display whenever the opportunity arises?
Not this long, sensuous hair, kept shiny with apple cider
vinegar?
You want to photograph my back?!
This back that has held the weight of over 50 men and 10
women,
that has been sunburned from mermaid days
when I could not resist staying
in the water
just a little bit longer;
This back that hurts every day from scoliosis,
that knows the pleasure of sand on a hot day,
that knows the pleasure of a gentle touch and the relief of a massage;
This back that has felt a belt
as abuse
and as pleasure;
This back that I turn to the world when I am tired,
that holds the weight of being me?
Ah! That back!
Pamela K Walker © 2001
[Photo proofs by Doug Winter in a preliminary photo session.]