preference

a mysterious phenomenon happens every spring
and every spring some dude writes a comic short story
or a novice poem describing what he sees
his thoughts and feeling on the subject

i'll start by saying i used to eat salad with salad dressing
because that was the only way i knew how to eat salad
i used to eat hamburgers with ketchup because i was taught to
and i used to wash my hair every time i took a shower
with a bottle of $2 Swave from Wal-Mart
and i used to cut my hair every month
at Hellen's
never letting it grow more than five inches
and sit on park benches posted in front of a gorgeous field of ripe green grass
i used to go about abiding unwritten rules
that restricted me from experiencing the natural state of the world
the taste of leaf lettuce, the taste of a plain hamburger on a plain bun
the darkest of coffee without cream and sugar
the richest of dark chocolate
pipe tobacco and pricey cigars
unprocessed peanut butter and honey and whole wheat bread
all shapes of fruits and all colors of vegetables
the smell of my own body without cologne
without a shower
without soap
so this past year i have been de-constructing my habits
i have been enjoying who i am and what the world is
naturally, as God created everything to be

now spring is here
and short-shorts
every color of pastel pink and blue and green and red
and plucked hairless legs
long and tan and totally
unnatural
and suddenly i realize i find this totally
un-attractive
a plucked turkey, baked in an oven
is not beautiful
but to my stomach who knows it tastes good
oh, but a woman who feels no need to conform to some code of aesthetic conduct ascribed to before she was born
who needs not shaved legs, tan skin and Covergirl
a woman who realizes her own naturally beauty
content with herself
enough to wallow in a mud puddle with me
stub her toes and beak her nails
who needs not comb her matted hair i say
this is no girl
a woman
one in a million, a billion even
is the only one i want