A Permission Slip | A Poem About Living
THIS LIFE
Dear little boys, wherever you are, whoever your parents are,
you were born to be yourself,
To play with dolls
Or monster trucks,
To dress in a skirt
Or a suit,
To love a man
Or a woman.
Little girls, you were born to be a reflection
Of your desires, whether that’s to be a loud,
Nasty woman, or a sensitive
Quiet observer. You can become a mother,
Stay single,
Or both.
For the spirit has no gender, only true
And untrue. This life has been waiting
For you, this life is your stage and you
Designed the set.
My love, this life is your prayer. You are both talking
To the heavens and listening on
The other end. This life is an amen,
A blessed be, a namaste. This life is a promise to let you
Feel, to let you experience, to let you be, but
Never a promise to protect you.
This life is waiting for you to sing
Like you do in the shower, to dream like you did when you were a child.
Do you remember how you would dream before
You learned you couldn’t shouldn’t? When you dreamt
Of going to space, or being president, of writing those books,
Of being you?
Who taught you to stop dreaming, to stop imagining a life you wanted?
When did you first learn that being bold was unacceptable? Unloveable?
Today, I give you permission to laugh again.
I want to hear your ideas, your stories, your hopes, your fears. Today,
I give you permission to be you again.
