Dear Girl; Dear Woman

Close up photo of a hand partially covering a freckled face

By Megan Posner

Sweet

Girl

Ten and Timid

Round

Flushed

Freckled cheeks

Framed by curls

-kept wild to

collect dandelion fluff-

Remember:

You believe in their seeds-

carrying

wishes upon the wind.

****

Sensual

Woman

Tentative and Tired

Round

Curved

Widened womb

Touched by yellow light

-kept warm to

teach the hummed inward language of our sisters-

Remember:

You belong to a lineage of mothers whose

worn and weathered hands

remained

soft.

****

Curious

Girl

Barefoot

in the dewey-damp grass

Content

in the company of caterpillars

Fingernails

-dirtied

Graceful, gracefully

colliding into the spaces in-between-

Remember:

Tell your stories with the attitude of a lioness-

with appetite with your arms

legs

Flourish

Fumble

Find the ground

again.

****

Cautious

Woman

Bare

in the drowsy-dusk

Calm

in the presence of whimsy-pink clouds

Arms

-tattooed

Grateful, gratefully

struggling out of too-tight skin-

Remember:

Live like the moth-

With conviction with your core

muscle

Clamber

Claw

Connect again.

****

Brave

Girl

Sundress

-ruffled

Remember:

Sweetly sew in a pocket for a

summer-warm tomato-

fuzzy

plucked from the vine.

****

Butterfly

Woman

Remember:

Boldly bite into the flesh of a

sun-sweetened tomato-

drip seeds down

fuzzy

bare legs

resolutely rooted in the soil.

Megan Posner is a writer, artist, and hopeful human. An endlessly curious creator of art and a collector of words. She's mostly sweet and sometimes scrappy. She curates Nutmeg & Whimsy, her website and a home for words, colors, insights, struggles, poetry and empathy. IG: @nutmeg_creations | FB: @nutmegandwhimsy nutmegandwhimsy.com