Ode to a Strange Planet

by Victoria Segarra

Rolling hills of skin
Comfortable, cushiony ground
The strong and capable plains
Of my back
Blue rivers of veins,
Their waters warm and comforting
Beyond the peaks and dips
Of my abdomen
I see valleys of soft flesh
Filled with stretch mark streams

My body
For years,
I have despised your geography
Wished I could
Tear down your forests
And flatten your hills
And model you after other planets
With less rugged terrain

You are not perfect
But nature is not perfect
And it’s beauty moves people to tears
To traverse your sprawling landscape
Is an adventure
And adventures can be
Dangerous
And messy
And unpleasant
But they are always worth it


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Victoria Segarra is a Creative Writing student at Laguardia Community College. She is a Puerto Rican woman from the Bronx, where she discovered a love for writing while in middle school.


Image credit: “Bubble Planet,” Jon King. Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0.