Picasso said that every child is born an artist

By Rebekah Childers

and my body was her first canvas.

we made these marks together,

not with ink and needle,

but with time, with blood,

and with a heartbeat.

and as permanent as a tattoo,

they are here to stay

and tiny squares

in tiny screens

and hashtag ad

know how to make it go away,

this body art.

these lines we drew together,

my baby and i.

this landscape,

these ridges,

the story of our birth.

erase?

the arch in my back.

erase?

the groans and the screams.

erase?

my body broken,

my blood spilled out.

erase,

erase,

erase.

and God

damn you,

diet culture,

and God

damn you,

body image,

and God

damn you,

beauty standard.

and God of

Rahab,

and God of

Keturah,

and God of

Hagar,

and God Our Mother,

God of the mothering,

damn you,

who would undo

these universes we make

I worked

hard

for this body,

I worked

hard

for these marks.

my body broken,

my blood spilled out.

and God

has traced

herself in these ridges.

and like Creator, like the Great Artist

we made life.

like the split

of

adamah

from one to two,

like the split

of the waters for land -

the split

of my body,

and then breath.

and these lines

are the altar where we met God.

and these lines

are the marks of the Seventh Day.

Rebekah Guerry Childers is a feminist and a writer from Mississippi with degrees in English and Theology. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her family. This is her first publication. Find her on Instagram @rebekahchilders