My body becomes a wreck
if I don't take care of it
and am dissatisfied
if it's not all that beautiful
not 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 receive it
because I am not an avatar
but intimately myself