you are drinking too much
you are so beautiful it makes our solar plexuses ache
all of us who click on your pictures obsessively
i have found you!
at last
i missed you
forty-five thoughts for my daughter and my virtual daughters
i always believed if i had blond hair, pixie face,
big breasts
everything would be all right
not realizing that culturally idolized beauty
is not only foolproof but potentially dangerous
if you believe in your own unconventional beauty
when you are young
you will accomplish twice as much and suffer half so
turn off lightbulbs and light a candle
walk don’t drive
plant a tree
wear sunscreen
dancing is an antidepressant
kindness is the new status symbol
every day please try to eat something green
and something orange
that grow out of the ground
tell me how mad you are
that your father and i parted
i will always listen
though i can’t ever take away the pain
expectations are for what you yourself create
they rarely work when applied to others
turn off the television
tv is a depressant
yoga is an antidepressant
don’t feel guilty about wanting pretty things
they would not be so alluring
if you weren’t supposed to want them
just don’t value them over compassion
use your words even when you are a grown-up
and people no longer think it is entirely acceptable
when you say, that hurt my feelings
if you can digest chocolate eat it sometimes
same goes for ice cream
(i don’t really need to tell you those things do i?)
do your homework because it is part of the game but
don’t spend too much time worrying about grades
fall in love with someone kind who loves your body and your mind
if you have a dream that won’t let you go, that
tickles your solar plexus, heed it
turn dark feelings into paintings or poetry
or dancing
music is a kind of food
if you are sad talk to a happy woman who loves you
it will always help
move your body when you are sad or angry
avoid the following:
genetically modified ingredients
parabens
sodium lauryl sulfate
mercury in certain fish
neurotic thoughts about food
(is that a contradiction?)
love your curls though they tangle
your pale skin though it can burn in the sun
your nose though it is broader than some
your sturdy legs and feet
forget barbie she does not possess imagination
remember you are a botticelli angel
the planet we live on is perfection
love her like a goddess
love yourself as her daughter
there is a planet full of different kinds of beauty
the idea that only one type of woman is beautiful
is blasphemy
of everything i brought to the world in these
forty-five years
you and your brother are by far the most astounding
because of this i will always love your father
matter never vanishes, only changes
remember that when someone you love dies
your round head on my breast when you were born
is the memory
i will keep with me when i leave this body
when i am gone i will still be near you
this is how i know: when you were born
it was not a meeting
but a reunion
how to (un)cage a girl
longer hair bigger breasts smoother skin
flatter stomach whiter teeth smaller nose
if you worry enough you won’t have time
or energy to see
what really is
what could i have learned
if i didn’t live here in this cell?
where could i have flown?
how would i have grown?
if i forgave this shell?
oh, my body
let me cradle you like my girl’s
her long limbs spilling over
or folding up like silk
her gold-tinged curls
ringleting my fingers
her eyes the blue of sorrow
and hyacinth
oh, my body
when you are at peace
rocked here to sleep
as if by a mother
as if by a lover
who sees your flushed skin
the grace that you’re in
the gleam of your hair
the green of your stare
then this soul can fly off
to understand pyramids and time
history
electricity
technology
symbology
that all of us are one
that all of us are love
About the Author
Francesca Lia Block, winner of the prestigious Margaret A. Edwards Award, is the author of many acclaimed and bestselling books, including WEETZIE BAT, DANGEROUS ANGELS: The Weetzie Bat Books, PSYCHE IN A DRESS, and BLOOD ROSES. Her work is published around the world. You can visit her online at www.francescaliablock.com.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
ALSO BY FRANCESCA LIA BLOCK
weetzie bat
missing angel juan
girl goddess #9: nine stories
the hanged man
dangerous angels: the weetzie bat books
i was a teenage fairy
violet & claire
the rose and the beast
echo
guarding the moon
wasteland
goat girls: two weetzie bat books
beautiful boys: two weetzie bat books
necklace of kisses
psyche in a dress
blood roses
Credits
Jacket photo © 2007 Moira Madden
Photo by Molly Bliss, with assistance by Jen Reeves
Jacket design by Carla Weise
Copyright
HOW TO (UN)CAGE A GIRL. Copyright © 2008 by Francesca Lia Block. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Mobipocket Reader August 2008 ISBN 978-0-06-170933-3
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