By Ashley Laub
boyfriend jeans. mom jeans.
flare cut. jeggings. straight cut. wide-legged.
Skinny.
all different jeans
for all different types.
so one day
i could look in the mirror
and like what i see.
all jeans are made equal,
and yet one is more equal than the others.
Skinny jeans were never my favorite
and yet they filled my drawers
to an alarming amount
as if the quantity of Skinny
could negate the quantity of pounds.
Denim. sky. baby. navy.
all different colors
and all between
in an attempt
to compliment
all of the different colors
of people i see.
the colors collected
to create a gradient of a beautiful cast
but when i look
there is predominantly one color of blue jean
a denim to contrast the whiteness
that has forced itself into me
and everyone i see.
and I think
if we all see color
so differently
that my denim looks different
from yours
yet
we still tried
to look the same.
mid-rise, high-rise, low-rise.
a question
of how much you want to cover
and how much you want to hide.
the fabric wraps to your body
in an attempt to conceal
the words you want to say
but can’t
the only variable that changes,
some are more afraid
and some aren’t
i see jeans
from pubic bone
to waist line.
and mine of course,
all wrap at the top of my abs
odd how on paper my hand writes fluid yet in life my tongue is silent.
since the only constant is change
as my body fluctuates
my Skinny High-Waisted Denim Jeans
try to cover up the art
my body is trying to paint.
sizes range
from 12
to 18
to 10
to 14
so sick
of the paradox
my selection
of un-fit Skinny jeans
had assigned me
i put on Sky Blue Mid-Rise Wide-Leg Jeans
I look in the mirror
and finally
I like what I see.
odd how once I accepted my body
my clothes changed
to compliment
my new self-esteem.
wide leg, mom jean, flare jean, straight jean and more
the jeans fill my drawers
each one
for a different feeling
to convey
the parts of me
I had begun to adore.
at the bottom of the drawer,
is a pair
of skinny high-waisted denim jeans
well worn-in but no longer worn
in this case, more is never less.
Ashley Laub is a senior at North Penn High School. Her hobbies include singing, writing, and drawing. After high school, she hopes to move to New York to study art. After all, we don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we're members of the human race. It's what we stay alive for.