Sonnet to Freedom

GROWING UP IT TROUBLED ME THAT MY FULL FIGURE MOTHER FELT ASHAMED TO WEAR A SWIMSUIT IN PUBLIC.

Tiptoeing into the womb of my room,

My mother whispers with a hushing sound,

Gesturing, "Do you want to go swimming?"

I rise out of my bed, backyard pool bound.

Silently sliding into soft slippers,

Crossing linoleum to grassy ground,

Leaving the hum of air conditioners,

I hear the chirp of crickets in night air.

Mom slips her nightgown off over her head,

Pale rolls of flesh and pendulous breasts bare.

Too many years of body-shaming ideals

And self-hatred have taught her despair.

She glides into the water, smiling

Under cover of darkness, without a care.