Byways

By | 3 December 2025

deeply etched into my skin
i hid my atypical
under fungal outcrops of shame
in damp caves
where no one would suspect

but the gods of weakening corporeality
claimed me in their name
my body passed as normal no more
with lowered eyes i mouthed humiliation
and danced the crooked byways

one step two steps knees hyperextended
quadriceps weakening
my resolve
shaken by the aftershock of collapsing
limbs lopsided to earth
i’d say to those who offered assistance
stand behind and grab me under the arms
like firefighters do the best pick me up

my legs thinned my crip pride bloomed
and crawled smug around my tonsils
i recced labyrinths and staircases
as impossible to access as giants’ castles
or witches’ lairs i learned that power
is irony my weapon my shield
my opportunity to refuse the fairytale
where passers-by attempt to lay hands
upon my body pray for me
or ask out of the condescending blue
what’s wrong with you?

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