Sal Kang

The Orange Has Body Image Issues

The Orange has Body Image Issues
after J Jennifer Espinoza

Sometimes, when you pull me close & tell me
you could be the one, I antagonize the word love.

I measuretape my width against the creases
of your hands. There are so many things I don’t

want you to see in detail: this reptilian, patchy
skin. These white strips clumping, unattaching

from my scalp. When disrobed, I’m little more
than a marigold mess of pulp & goo. I can’t make

your mouth water every morning without fail.
Sometimes, when you compare me to the sun,

a part of me still feels afraid because that doesn’t
come in bite-size. Sometimes your smooth kiss

feels like a fork stab in my thigh. I don’t know
how else to tell you that I struggle to love myself,

but morning comes, whether you love yourself
or don’t. & When you knowingly embrace me in

the light, no matter the number on the scale,
when you hold me, dripping pus & all, & feel

the need to thank mother nature, for once I feel
grateful that I’m not two-dimensional. For once

I feel like I can love & save some for myself.