PERCEPTION

We see our bodies petite and round,

Long and lanky, aware of each pound

Of flesh so pink and white and smooth,

Or brown and lustrous, old and new.

A kaleidoscope of brilliant red mouths

Now smiling, now pursed, white teeth housed

Within full black lips or a purple slash,

A pink puckered bow turned down in a flash.

Eyes that twinkle, smile and laugh.

Eyes that seduce or cut a man in half.

Tall we are wise, lazy if fat.

Thin is beauty, cover bald with a hat.

The rules of identity are hard and fast.

Perceptions of worth are firmly cast

In stone in minds rigidly bound,

Flexible reasoning seldom found.