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?