I see women
once bulbus
with rolls of
unmolded clay
whittled down
by the pressure of thumb
or knife
revealing wire frames
used for movement
and stability.
Their padded walls
of fat
and flesh
shrinking around them,
clinging to these steel frames
that weaken with each tightened inch.
Hip bones
pierce through skin
like shark fins
angling themselves outwards,
Like sails
cutting through air.
they weaken,
crumbling under the wind.
The sails begin to tear.
canvas pulled too tightly over bone
it splits
that wretched sound of
stitches becoming undone.
as they weaken at the seams.
This poem was very much inspired by the works of Sylvia Plath. I took the opportunity to focus on a simple issue such as losing weight and look at it in detail. I imagined the human form as a claymation figure, a wire stick figure used to create stability and movement, padded with clay to form a character. I imagined the clay slowly being worn away and over time the original stick figure becomes visible.
