I AM ALL These Things by Eliza Lopez
I wish I could be like the ocean
No one asks the ocean why it’s fluid, it just moves and it's okay
I wish I could be like a cactus
No one questions cacti for defending itself, it just protects and it's okay
I wish I could be like flowers
No one judges a flower when it blooms, it just opens up and it's okay
I wish I could be like the leaves of a tree
People actually celebrate when their leaves change colors, heck even when they fall, even when they grow back. They just change and it’s okay
I wish I could be like a butterfly
People actually dedicate sanctuaries to witness their metamorphosis; they even pay to see it
They transform and it’s okay
I wish I could be like the moon
No one asks the moon with whom it sleeps at night, because who the heck thinks the moon sleeps at night anyway?
It just lights up and it's okay, it moves and it's okay, it expands and it's okay, it contracts and its okay, it even affects our behavior and the tides, and the plants and the animals and its okay
Oh to be like an ocean
To be like a cactus
To be like a flower
To be like the leaves of a tree
To be like a butterfly
To be like the moon
But I am all these things
I am all these things
I am all these things
Can't you see?
But you’re too busy trying to figure out if I am he or she
You’re too busy wondering why my hair changes colors by the week
You’re too busy questioning why I don’t have kids
You’re too busy wanting and wanting and wanting from me
Wanting information, wanting education, wanting labor
Wanting my body without accepting me
You’re too busy, You’re too busy, You’re too busy, To just let me be
But with or without your support or understanding
I AM all these things
I am fluid like an ocean and move my waves as I please
I protect myself and my people like a cactus when I have to
I open up like a flower when I feel nourished and secure
I am ever changing like the leaves of a tree
I transform like a butterfly over and over again
I light up like the moon and influence the ones connected to me
I am all these things, even if you’re too busy or refuse to see
Eliza Lopez (they/she) is a non-binary, queer, Mexican person of color of Indigenous descent. They are the founder and creator of Mariposa Healing, a community resource that supports people in their healing transformation by providing mental health and spirituality services and education. For more of her content, follow Eliza on Instagram (@mariposahealing) and experience their poem above with movement attached below.
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