Boom, there she is, smoking hot.
You can tell from the way she is
looking us straight in the eye
that she is her own person. She is
swathed in a golden glow, radiant,
confident.
Oh, the gossip and chatter buzzes:
fillers, filters, spray tanned, airbrushed,
skinny, privileged, hairpiece, work done.
I ignore the sniping and second guessing
and stare right back at her, because
she exudes a feeling I want.
Sure, there is damn good lighting.
But look closer: There are lines,
thickening, sagging, spots. Signs
of life: evidence of pushing, scraping,
creating, getting gut punched, knocked
down, stomped on, locked up.
Here is someone who honed
that unwavering gaze by hauling
herself back up, through the pain
and paparazzi, rising up when critics
spat and doubted: rebuilding, reinventing,
redefining. This is a girl from the wrong
side of the tracks who dared to dream it,
to nail it, to be the boss, to own it.
To set her own table.
I don’t care what she looks like:
thin, fat, hairless or hairy, nipped
or tucked, black or white; I want
that grit, that nerve, that mettle. I want
to be a woman who lives out loud,
who lives in color, who looks good
for her age or any age, the one
who gets it done, fearless,
a survivor.
I want to embrace all the cliches,
slash through the stereotypes, bare
it all in front of naysayers, and live
to tell the tale – unapologetically,
unafraid, with gusto, staring
into the camera, saying: Here I am.
Just watch me. Just try to stop me.
I want to be like Martha Stewart: Living.
I am not normally a reader of poetry. But, I thought the poem about Martha Stewart Living as cover girl of Sports Illustrated was excellent. The poem was written by a woman who understood how hard it was to look good as she ages. It is hard even with wrinkle filler and plastic surgery and a fitness coach and a top notch hairstylist and every other advantage money can buy. Martha is an outlier.
I hope Martha Stewart got to read this. It's good!
I am not normally a reader of poetry. But, I thought the poem about Martha Stewart Living as cover girl of Sports Illustrated was excellent. The poem was written by a woman who understood how hard it was to look good as she ages. It is hard even with wrinkle filler and plastic surgery and a fitness coach and a top notch hairstylist and every other advantage money can buy. Martha is an outlier.