By Sameera Iyengar
Paintings by Deborah Maher
I love the woman who laughs too loudly
At the top of her lungs
Deep belly gurgling laughs
Chest-heaving, doubling up laughs
Throwing her gorgeous joy into the air
Take it or not
I love the woman whose body is wrong
By conventional standards
By which I mean the ridiculous standards that want us to fit into sizes and shapes that are not ours
I love when the hips are too broad
The breasts too small
The arms too long
The hands too large
The stance too wide
The gesticulation too broad
The energy too big
The presence too present
I love these women
Comfortable in their skin
Looking with knowing smiling eyes
At a world yet to catch up with them
Laughing out loud
Deep belly gurgling laughs
Chest-heaving, doubling up laughs
Throwing their gorgeous beauty into the air
Take it or not