No way…

by Mara Buck

I have never dreamt of flowing dresses,

trains to trip me up,

veils to blind me,

elaborate fingernails to cripple my hands

as I tear off false lashes,

Silicon and Botox and

Spanx and Panx and the obligatory arsenal

to create of Me the She of the

airbrushed illusion.

I am not Marie Antoinette,

though I like my cake.

We shall share it

and grow fat and happy

together.

Keep your ankle-spraining stilettos,

your push-up bras,

your murderous pantyhose and

all the powder and the paint,

for I am the female of the species

who had the sense to eat the apple

and I found it most delicious.

* * * * *

"No Way" was originally published online in The Lake Literary Magazine, Ireland (11/13) and   subsequently published in the print anthology Like A Girl: Perspectives on Feminine Identity and Development, Lucid Moose Lit (9/15). Author retains all rights