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By A.C. Fernandez Submitted by A.C.F. Date: 2010 Sep 16 Comment on this Work [[2010.09.16.01.03.22144]] |
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I stand naked before you. I close my eyes for a moment and cannot breathe. The vulnerability overwhelms me, yet I hold my head high in defiance of my fear. I ask for your patience in this process, as it is foreign to me. I am not one to give myself so carelessly to another. My eyes open. Can you see them? The are pale, pale green. Almost translucent. They carry within them the depths of my soul, my memories, my vision. If you posess the courage you can look to see who I am. I grant you the opportunity just this once. Only once. My body is scarred. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds. Only two are not by my own hand. One on my left breast. One on my left leg. The others carry their own dialog. Stories I choose not to tell with my voice. But you can read their pages in the reflections of my eyes. I am a woman. I am grown, yet child-like in her shyness. For your glances upon me are almost too much for me to withstand. I stand naked before you. Yet I challenge you. Put your hand to my heart. Feel the beating. I am alive. I am real. I am not invisible. Let me take your hand, and I will show you the places I will allow you to touch. For despite this offering to you, my body belongs to me and forever shall. In time, and only in time, perhaps I shall not be so tentative. I will be able to stand naked before you and feel completely equal. Without shame. Without trepidation. I will look you eye to eye. Then you shall know who I really am. A.C. Fernandez |