Belonging

For the rebels and the misfits,
the black sheep and the outsiders.
For the refugees, the orphans,
the scapegoats, and the weirdos.
For the uprooted, the abandoned,
the shunned and invisible ones.

May you recognize with increasing vividness
that you know what you know.

May you give up your allegiances
to self-doubt, meekness, and hesitation.

May you be willing to be unlikeable,
and in the process be utterly loved.

May you be impervious
to the wrongful projection of others,
and my you deliver your disagreements
with precision and grace.

May you see, with the consummate clarity
of nature moving through you,
that your voice is not only necessary,
but desperately needed to sing us out of this muddle.

May you feel shored up, supported, entwined,
and reassured as you offer yourself
and your gifts to the world.

May you know for certain
that even as you stand by yourself
you are not alone.

by Toko-pa Turner