He won’t look you in the eye

He’ll throw a tantrum if you touch him

Cause you’re not his mom

And he won’t speak with you

That is,

Unless you’re talking about clocks

Because he knows everything there is to know

About clocks

 

She wears an almost permanent smile

She’ll hug every stranger she meets

If you let her

She has a speech impediment

But that doesn’t stop the kindness

That flows from her lips

And she has an extra chromosome

 

He sees his waistline doubled when he looks

In the mirror, mirror on the wall

He’s sure he hears everyone’s thoughts

Insisting that he’s too fat

He refuses to eat more than a spoonful

And a glass of water

Because he is determined to be skinny

If it’s the last thing he does

 

She can’t drown out the voices

Telling her she’s no good

She drags a blade across her skin

So she knows she’s still alive

She cries herself to sleep, though

She doesn’t even know why

She’s so sad

But you can be sure she’ll put on a

Beautiful smile

Every day for you

 

And too often the ‘normal’ forget them

Forget

That they have hopes and dreams

Feelings and wishes

As simply complicated as mine

As complicatedly simple as yours

Forget

That we all bleed red

And we all cry sea water

But mostly we forget

That though our struggles are not

The same

There should be

No shame

In what are perceived as flaws

Because it is our flaws

That make us strong

Our differences,

That make us unique

Our acceptance of ourselves

That make us beautiful

And our embracing of each other

That make us invincible.