As if sculpted by master hands

In the medium of eternity

Her smooth firmness

Betrays no mortality.

She was peeled from the mold of

Inhuman perfection,

An ever-changing womb of

Trendy insatiability.

–

The snakeskin pattern

Clings and moves as one with her body

And I am awed, breathless, covetous.

She is iridescent and magnetic.

–

Generously she bequeaths

The Standard, an image

Conveniently transmitted into my mind and

Projected on the walls of my consciousness,

A constant companion, and

I believe, in my self-deception,

Her seductress promises

That I too can, and should, aspire to the

Goddess-like perfection of The Standard

Offering herself as proof of attainment.

–

Hypnotically this usurper of

Acceptance and hope,

Becomes the Ideal,

All that is valuable and engaging,

My path to visibility and happiness.

The Way.

–

Propelled by images of chiseled desirability

I obey her demands

Precisely lifting, angling and flexing

Each muscle in

My leg,

My arm,

My torso.

My body screams in agony,

Protesting against torture to which I freely submit,

Threatening paralysis and failure,

Demanding to be heard.

–

I am deaf to its pleas.

The body,

This flesh, this fat and muscle

Is my enemy, a vessel

To be fashioned and formed to the Ideal set before me,

By force if necessary.

–

The energy of hateful design commands me,

Birthing a feverish and possessive self-loathing

So strong and enveloping, all

Goodness and

Beauty and

Humanity in me atrophies.

–

Her words of subjugation

No longer confined to our daily ritual of

Pain and submission

Now permanently inhabit my mind and

Breathe real life into The Standard.

–

Wielding power to judge and punish

The Standard appears,

An invisible chemical reaction

Condensing to bring forth it’s power,

At every mirror, pane of glass, shine of metal

At every human encounter and

Turn after turn of glossy page.

–

My hands, masochistic re-enforcers

Portably beneficial to maximum compliance,

Pinch and smooth,

Tighten, and lift,

Squeeze and magnify each body part

Daring to defy The Standard.

–

My indoctrination complete

I am a tool used for

Recruitment of disciples to grow its

Cult of Distorted Body Image.

I adhere to and promote its dogma,

My life deprived of originality

Deflated of substance

Devoid of love,

Committed only to obedience,

Eagerly awaiting, in vain,

The warm embrace of validation.