Miss Representation

[vagabond]

When she was seven
we played a game,
matching heads to bodies and legs,
a little girls face, strong arms
with anchor tattoos
footballers legs
and army boots.

And so she made the image match   almost schizophrenic, the two people in 1st stanza one?
stronger faster quicker,
hard to catch,
brighter braver better
than the best.
She became herself.

At seventeen they dropped the veil
of the beauty queen, eating only apples       makes me think of snow white, anorexic.
to fall fast asleep.                   the reason for eating apples is interesting  
When she woke I cried,
thinner weaker slower
something died inside.
Quiet dull compliant,
tethered to the tugboats pull.  
She wanted the boys
to flock like gulls.

At twenty one she started to see
beyond the braille books         
of how a female should look
in preparation for male approval,
an ill placed hand can break             unclear, I could think of plastic surgery gone wrong, or
the darkest of spells.                      maybe some sexual encounter..

So now she stands ahead of the table,
pens take note when she speaks               good line about "communication"
a guide for the weak, all are equal.
The papers reported her success
with questions of tummy tucks
and real or fake breasts.
They missed the anchor tattoo.         I guess everyone has an anchor tattoo?