I’m going to flip the script on this prompt
I'm circling back around to the NaPoWriMo prompt from Day 18. It's a fun prompt, but it definitely set me off on the "what if I hadn't been so terrified to be me" path.
NaPoWriMo Day 18 prompt: Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem in which the speaker expresses the desire to be someone or something else, and explains why. Two possible models for you: Natasha Rao’s “In My Next Life I’ll Be a Tomato” and Randall Jarrell’s “The Woman at the Washington Zoo”.
In my next life, let me be me again
but me without all the fetters and flutters of fear
dangling off of my arms and legs.
Let me be proud of my round belly and big shoulders
understanding now that broad bones are needed
to lift the burden of my body.
Let me wear bright colors and striped socks
even after seventh grade, skeletons dangling
from ears pierced at midnight.
Let me write all my college papers at three a.m.
again, but without the shame.
Let me live with my limits instead of breaking them
for the next boy, for the next possible friend
desperate to belong.
Let me wait for the people who love me
instead of loitering on their doorsteps, begging
Oh please, let me in. I promise I'll be good.
Love the poem and the art work !!
Wow, Margaret. So powerful. Celebrating the you of now, the best version of you yet!! How lucky that I get to meet this Margaret and experience her art. Keep it up!