Love, CP

If we are raised
To hate a thing
That exists in us -
That we cannot change -
No matter what...

What does that do?

What does that do to our souls?
What does that do to our minds?
What does that do to our hearts?
What does that do to everything
That makes us us?

What if, instead
We are raised
To love this thing
That exists in us -
To learn to work with it
And learn, too,
All of the ways it makes us
Unique.

What if, instead
Of hating ourselves
And raging against
This part of our being -
We stopped
For just a moment...
For as long as we could stand it...
And just waited
To see
What would happen
Next?

What if, instead
Of resenting
Our very identities
We celebrated?
We passed along pride
Forged out of necessity?
Found not because we are
Arrogant,
But because we needed it
To survive?

(One.)
Count the seconds
(Two.  Three.)
With me - believe
(Four.  Five.)
For these five seconds
You are something.
You are everything.

Because when you love you
You love me.  Maybe you even
Love CP.
Because by loving you, you are loving
That little girl, and that baby boy,
Who can grow up
Differently, knowing
Different doesn't have to
Mean alone.

It means community.
It means beauty.
It means specificity.
It means belonging.
It means similarities
In stories,
In spasticities,
In our dignities.

We
Deserve
To find the truth
Buried under
All the lies.
We deserve
To love everything
That makes us us
To realize
We don't have to remake
Ourselves
To fit the image of who we
Are not.

Breathe deep
Speak.

We are not
Secrets to keep.