My body becomes a wreck
if I don't take care of it
and am dissatisfied

if it's not all that beautiful
as it seems, and so much
should change what can't be done

I see shiny people everywhere
they devote their bodies
as temples

of flesh, bones, and blood
to plastic beauty
or something higher

but my temple is for myself
a work of art
of my mind

that listens
when my body calls
for recognition and tenderness

to give and to receive
I am not an avatar
but intimately myself