either cold or hot
crow is a dish best not served
choose your words wisely
The prompt put me in a Senryu state of mind.
I know this bird is actually a raven. But it makes a nice stand-in for a crow on its nice, snowy background.
Image by Bianca Van Dijk from Pixabay
Mandarin Duck
Image by Yana Vakulina from Pixabay
mandarin she-duck
beautiful in her own way
despite drab feathers
The Prompt:
Image by eriko okuno from Pixabay
I believe the only place you'll see ducks like these is when taking a trip, and I'm not talking about going for a drive to the local pond in your car.
Do you pity the female Mandarin duck because nobody compliments her drab plumage? I don't. I wish I could be more like her.
When I was younger, I thought I wanted men to be ga-ga over my looks. I was also very conflicted about my body. I hated it when my hips developed but I wished I had bigger breasts. I hated it when gross men whistled or shouted at me from car windows or construction sites, but I wanted the guys my own age to want me.
I never had the kind of looks that would have made me a sex object. I had a big butt and thighs with a modest chest. My face was "too round" even when my weight was "proportional to my height." I had cosmetic work done on my chin and teeth to make my face more conventionally attractive.
After having liposuction on my chin, my delightful boss at the airport clothing store told me I should get something done about my "chipmunk cheeks." As she said this, she pinched my cheeks. I was too astounded to say anything. My face was bruised and puffy, I had a compression bandage wrapped around it to help reduce the swelling, and this maniac was pinching my cheeks. This is one of those times where there simply were no words.
As I got older, I attracted attention because I have the "wrong kind" of body. I have the kind of body where everyone thinks it's their right to tell me how I should change my body. I think it's my right to tell them all to fuck off.
Unlike my younger self, I don't want to be noticed for my looks in any way, whether it's positive or negative. I look different, so my looks attract attention. I want my creations to get noticed, not me.
Peter Frampton once said he didn't understand why photographs always focused on his face when it was his hands that made the music. Phil Lynott said that even though he didn't encounter serious racial prejudice (his mother was Irish and his father was from Guyana) he was, nevertheless, aware that he was "other," and it bothered him.
I resonate with both of these thoughts. What difference does it make if I look like a Playboy centerfold or if I look like a Playhutt centerfold? I'm not a pinup girl, I'm a poet and writer. You don't have to see me to read my words. If you're thinking about me rather than what I've written, either you're a stalker or I need to improve my technique.
As for being "other," I spent decades trying to change my appearance because I thought I looked ugly.
I may never have been beautiful, but I didn't look ugly. I looked like an East European peasant with my round face and stocky body. If that's not your thing, that's fine. I'd never try to force anyone to pretend they think I'm beautiful.
Here's the thing, though. If you behave like someone not resembling your ideal bed partner is presenting a personal affront to you simply by existing, you, not they, are the problem. Not being attracted to someone is not a reason to treat them like garbage.
Rather than seeing people's appearances as attractive or ugly, I see them as attractive or neutral. It's a person's behaviors that make them seem ugly, not an asymmetrical face, wonky teeth, the size of their body, or any other external factor.
~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~
My creations are © 2024. This work is openly licensed via CC BY 4.0.
