centrefold
I was more a size 10 than a 2
with curves where they should be
and none where they shouldn't
tall but not too tall
a just right height
around five foot seven give or take
the sort of girl you'd think
would get noticed in a crowd
but who almost never did
they told me I was beautiful
a fine example of all a young woman should be
surprising in a time when stick thin was the vogue
and Twiggy was the queen of the catwalks
and just like the alley cat
who starved and thirsty
jumps upon a saucer of milk placed by a kindly soul
I lapped it up
they wanted me to model
told me I'd be perfect for the job
just a few shots they said
see how you do
gave me a robe to wear
nothing else, just a robe
told me not to worry
there's no-one here but us
and the photographer
he's pretty cool, he won't bother you
just do as he says
they could see I was uncertain
unsure what I was to do
or how to do it
they brought me wine
handed me a small white tablet
said they would calm me down
I took them, swallowed them quick
the pill and the drink
soon a gentle warmth spread over me
a warmth that made it easy
to slip out of the robe
and I stood there, naked before them
the camera began to load
its spellbinding repetitive click and whirr
absorbed me
I am immortalised in my nakedness
forever a centrefold
in a well thumbed cheap magazine
the sort you'd find propped on a rack
in the mens' washroom