measurements and calculations

so enmeshed in numbers
height, weight,
the measurable distance
between eyebrows
the arc of a nose

shades of eyes, hair, and skin
all dictated by the way melanin scatters
to paint us in rainbows

shape and size of eyes
flare of cheekbones and
fullness of mouths
all adding up to beautiful–

calculations I am comfortable
using in cat shows,
those exacting breed standards

a cat
after it is shown

continues being feline,
uncaring how it is seen
or how those numbers
rise and fall to calculate value

it is no less cat

not so with women,
not so with girls,
least of all very little girls

crippled & twisting to fit standards
of Barbie impossibility

they forget
their essential selves

and how those cannot be any less
based on what is seen

***Inspired by Rhonda’s rag doll.

About Susan L Daniels

I am a firm believer that politics are personal, that faith is expressed through action, and that life is something that must be loved and lived authentically--or why bother with any of it?
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13 Responses to measurements and calculations

  1. Rhonda says:

    SUSAN….BRILLIANT. I am reblogging on mine. FABULOUS and EXACTLY!

  2. Rhonda says:

    Reblogged this on Help Me Rhonda and commented:
    This my friends…is exactly how it it done! Brilliant my friend Susan, absolutely brilliant!

  3. beatrix mana says:

    You are so creative sometimes I envy you,you are truly blessed Rhonda,I am thankful I can visit your posts.

  4. nelle says:

    Like this one lots, and so true.

  5. Ian Moone says:

    Funny how toy’s work on young minds, it was the taking them apart I enjoyed most, so it was no wonder I became a mechanic and later a computer fixer, when the dirt got too much

  6. Nice one, again, Nice one, Susan! Barbie Impossibility – strong! Dream merchants and the cult of beauty that omits the beauty of the mind and the soul!

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