The hours we celebrate

This skin that stretches around us

Are fleeting at best

And the years strip away

What has been held before us

As beauty

We reach a finish line

Barely even women anymore

Unless we realize

Each wrinkle

Every scar

And those deadly battles won

Make us defiantly female

Beyond the standards

Imposed by marketing divisions

In antiseptic rooms

Made for critical eyes

And uncomfortable chairs

And conversations about what

Women

Should be

The messages lie

But the scars are real

And the victories remain

If we only love ourselves

Enough to cherish

This skin we are in ~ Caroline A. Slee