Saturday 6 September 2008

We are everywhere

I came across this beautiful poem by J Banks. It capture perfectly my feelings at this point in my journey, my life.
I lack the eloquence to put into words what she has described so poetically:-
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We are everywhere
by J Banks.

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We are everywhere. I try to tell people that, but they don’t seem to believe me.
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At the beginning of our journeys people see where you came from. In many ways, people tend to see where you were more than where you are. In another year, you will be even further on that journey - will they notice then?
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We are Doctors and Lawyers and Programmers. We are that woman at the gym, the woman in the grocery store.
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People see the extreme examples; people beginning their journey; people who aren’t even on the journey. From this small sampling they think they know us all.
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They don’t.
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We are the mothers dropping kids off at school. We are your brothers’ girlfriend.
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Not all of us are tall. Not all of us go to wild clubs. Not every one of us could have played football in school.

If you knew us ‘before’ you may not have thought we were gay. Or maybe you did.

We are writers and poets, drummers and speakers, dreamers and engineers.
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We are not an invading force. We don’t all know each other.
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We are not after your children. There is no recruitment effort.
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We are teachers.
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We did not make a choice; this is not an affectation. This is not for ‘kicks’.
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Not a third sex - Not a eunuch.
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We have desires like anyone else: health, companionship, community, security, wholeness.
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We have self worth. We have insecurities.

We want to be ourselves and be accepted as ourselves.
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We are everywhere, really.
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But, above all else....
We just are!


4 comments:

julia barber said...

Never truer words spoken.
Why do people want to make us what we are not?
What is the great sin about being "different"?
I am not the same as them and I am not "different"
I am ME and I do now look at myself with capital letters.

Jo said...

Yup.

Says it all doesn't it?

Anji said...

It speaks volumes:
"At the beginning of our journeys people see where you came from. In many ways, people tend to see where you were more than where you are."

Thankyou for sharing

alan said...

Beautifully written; beautifully true, each and every word!

For those who would love us each to be the same...preferably the same as them, I'm sure...what a drab world that would be!

alan