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Monday, April 24, 2023

respectful, not patronizing

I don't need to tell someone
That I don't believe what they do
If that belief isn't harming me
And it isn't an act of intimacy
 
I aim for compassion and respect
And sometimes that means agnostic
If they find comfort in their belief
Why would I challenge that worldview

Long as they aren't pushing it on me
I don't need to tout my skepticis
By explaining their belief to them
Because belief doesn't work for me.

Monday, April 17, 2023

at least some men

I'm not looking to date a man
Or invest into some grown boy
Go ahead and call it man hate
But it's really self-preservation
Searching for an exception to all men
Means we have to roll the dice
Invite the risk of real trauma
The feminist in me is repelled 
I would consider gender fluid
Or some sort of non-binary
But even then I'm doubtful
My new romantic ideal is a rebel
Rejecting gender expectations 
Eager for reversal of roles
Someone who wants to know me
And all my wierd and flawed.

Monday, April 10, 2023

abled accommodation

If you're able bodied
You receive accommodation
You just don't know it
Those of us disabled
Present ourselves as palatable

Our silence is accommodation 
We edit out the uncomfortable parts
Hiding the differences we can
You don't have our lived experience 
And always explaining is exhausting

Our patience is an accommodation
Not asking or expecting too much
Putting up with nosy questions
Excusing the demands of explanation
Accepting that compassion is rare

Even being open is an accommodation
We put ourselves at risk of disgust
Seen as entertainment or a curiosity
Treated like an inspiration, an infant
And not the expert of our own story

So we accommodate the world
We make due with what we have
We certainly don't expect better
Expectation leads to disappointment
And fair treatment is rare to find.

Monday, April 3, 2023

peace for me


Actuary tables don't see my worth
They see an unimportant complainer
At what point am I flailing madly
Suffering my sanity to a fruitless fight
How much life am I losing
Fighting a system that ignores me
My everyday has always suffered
The burden of my ill health
So you might understand
How I value the time I gain
Embracing peace over a battle
I already lost the genetic lottery
Not choosing a war against medicine.