Translated from Hebrew/ Mor Sheinbein**

The poem is by : Hagit Grossman

Too much force was halted

With the sucking of the stomach

With the hatred of one’s thighs, contempt for one’s arms

Too much uncertainty oppressed

Under whiffs of nail varnish and remover

Dying straightened strands

Billowing silicone into chest.

We’ve bled and fell over heels

Imbedded into girdles and nylons

We measured our dresses’ length

Seared brain cells on our cleavage’s depth

All day long we saw ourselves in our own reflection

We saw until we could see no more.

We compressed our stomach inward and gave up breathing

We were beautiful and hateful towards ourselves.

All this in the name of love,

Yet we knew nothing of love at all.

*Poet, married to Yehonatan Dayan, a literature scholar, editor and translator,  published four poetry books: nine poems for Samuel (Plonit Publishing House, 2007), Ash Whales (Keshev Leshira, 2010), trembling of the city (Keshev Leshira 2013) and the book of the body (Hakibutz Hameuhad, 2017).

**Creative, Writer, & Social Media Expert. New York City Metropolitan Area.