“The Tongues of Her Peers”
Iago’s Mirror by Fred Wilson 2009. TMA#2010.9
She stares into the mirror,
Her morphic contradiction forming
Her figure both shaped
And destroyed by the same society.
This view reveals her every insecurity.
The blackened glass whispers,
Sounding like the others,
“Not pretty,
Thighs too big.”
The glossed mirrors layered,
Dissect and examine,
Any spots considered “not good enough.”
Rigid textures of the looking glass
Pierce like the tongues of her peers.
She was taught to despise herself.
But she still courted beauty
So someone would love her one day.
Seeking the most gorgeous reflection
A girl distorted by this mirror could want,
Right?
Yet she needs no diet pills
To slim down her kindness or
Miracle creams to smooth her passions.
She sees worth so much more than her waistline.