At what point in my mid-twenties
did my belly become so
soft and round?
my hips become so wide and winged
like the curve of a cello?
At what point did my thighs and ass become so dimpled
like the wind winnowing a fresh snowbank
or the
waves on a stained-glass sea?

My whole life
I was a mere sapling
supple as a snapdragon in
early bloom
bendable,
lovely,
but easy to pass by,
unnoticed,
and now
it's as though I blinked, and
I am some a well-worn,
maritime tree:
live oak,
or
wax myrtle
I stick out and have
wide hips and
curving branches
and dimpled dips
and
one day
I'd like to pass myself in the mirror and say,
as I would of any hardy tree,
"look at that tree that has weathered,
many years, of bowing to the breeze
of growth in times of plenty
of providing home and nutrients and life
to many, many
around her".