Garbage Notes

Garbage Notes

what you look like

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Franco Amati
Jun 19, 2023
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Photo by Alexey Demidov on Pexels

it’s a sort of culture of inclusion 
and safety 
to be allowed to be free 
without worry of being judged 
or scrutinized for what 
you look like, 
or what you dress like, 
for the parts of your body 
that might show— 
the ones that aren’t usually revealed 
no one looking you up and down 
no one scoffing at flaws 
or getting stuck on some 
feature that isn’t the ideal 
you’re just yourself 
you’re just bare 
you’re alive…
and natural 
and it’s no big deal at all 
desexualized 
without being 
desensualized 
matter of fact…
I have a body, 
you have a body 
let’s move on and enjoy 
the breeze 
it doesn’t have to be more than that 
it doesn’t have to be bad or taboo 
the self 
in all its attractiveness 
in all its ugliness 
in all its uniqueness 
we are the custodians 
of this figure, 
to live and to breathe 
to embrace the totality 
of one’s skin 
in the abandonment 
of self consciousness 
we are together 
we are human 
and we are poetry 
in physical form


Garbage Notes:

Well, just the other day this officially became my most popular poem on medium. I published it a few weeks ago and it got distributed pretty widely. I’m glad because it’s about something that matters a great deal to me. It’s about body acceptance. It’s about having a sense of freedom and love for yourself however imperfect you are.

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