Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis

By C. Thomen-Brown

 

I am not here to be your label;

To fit inside your box

 

I am not here to change my colors;

To a hue you understand

 

I am not here to accept the comfort;

You offer from behind your protective glass

 

I am not here to be pinned against your wall;

My body on display

 

I am not here to be wrapped up in your blankets of security;

Which reek with your fear of the different and unknown

 

I will shed your perfectly maintained preconceptions;

Breaking away from your claustrophobic cage

 

I will burst forth as a mosaic of colors;

Every unique piece creating the beautiful whole of my wingspan

 

I will stand shivering and bare;

For the world to see

 

And I know that I am free;

Moving from the water to the sky

To fly.

To grow.

To be.

 

Vermont Pride was virtual this year, as were most pride celebrations. That meant even the Pride Magazine that Vermont Pride publishes and hands out each year was also virtual. The above poem came from their Prize Zine 2020. I really liked the poem and wanted to share it with you, but I know nothing about the poet C. Thomen-Brown. When I tried to search for more of their poetry, the only person I came across was an independently licensed clinical social worker named Camille Thomen-Brown at the Vermont Center for Anxiety Care located in Burlington, Vermont. I am guessing that this is the same person who wrote the poem. It was just such a lovely poem about being yourself and embracing your diversity.