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.]