you love my voice
when it is
soothing
reassuring
sleepy
and deep
and calming.

you love my eyes
when they are playful
or demure
or sympathetic

you love my mind
when it is witty
or analytical
and useful to you.

but
let me raise my voice in outrage
let these brown eyes of mine flash in anger
let my mind sharpen
and focus upon the ways you like to pull my strings
remind me of my place

and suddenly
this voice must be muted
these eyes become hated things
this mind is polluted
and must be supressed;

these parts of me
so beloved before
are now your enemies --

but why?

-they are the same
as ever they were;

I am the same
as ever I was.

but
I cannot be silent.
I will not disengage my eyes
or still my mind.

I have no way
or want
to experience the world
from your point of view
any more than you
can live it
through mine;

our value
our beauty
our peace
rests
in our ability
to be
indivisibly individual.

05/14/2006