Paradise Will Break Free

She stands there, naked and brazen, daring each passerby to look her straight in the eye. Her body is immaculately toned; skin tanned golden brown from the rebel sun; legs cemented to the hot, sadistic gravel with muscles that refuse to go unnoticed. Her bold, ample hips declare strength unknown to generations of a patriarchal society. Deep breaths of humid air fill her lungs, thrusting her beautiful abdomen forward and back again; tiny beads of sweat form beneath the full of her perfectly rounded breasts which rise up and down with each swell of her abdomen. Her balled fists remain firm at either side, giving way to her sculpted arms and shoulders. Her long, graceful neck merges into her surprisingly hard jaw line; full, sensual lips part ever so slightly revealing stark white teeth. Her prominent nose and cheek bones glisten from the beating sun as the wind makes her wild, wavy hair dance in protest of the roots holding it hostage. Her presence overwhelms and mystifies the very creators of her image; of her manifestation.

But her eyes are empty of emotion, vacant of thought. She is dying on the inside as no one stops to look past her surface. No one dares to look her straight in the eye. Despite the heat of the raging sun, her soul is trapped inside her frozen body. She does not know true love, only lust. She cannot feel true beauty, only dimension. She has not experienced true kindness, only expectation. No one dares to look past the physical representation of societal perfection for fear that something independent, courageous and unrestrained will be looking back.

Slowly, precariously, the ice melts bit by bit as her soul waits patiently; ready to penetrate the minds of all those who dare to look her straight in the eye; who will accept and understand her strength. And all paradise will break free at last.