If I must be labeled and boxed
The oppressor's most wicked
Effective tool at
Turning one against another
By lying to us
Cages beget cages
Words labels categories
Meant to separate
Instead I celebrate
Choosing the box of
Fluid
Water
More me
Than anything
What gives me life
In this harsh rigid constipated
World caged stifled
Costumed masked
Anxious afraid ashamed
Is flowing freely
Like the fluid I am
Moving sensing
Transforming
Becoming
Living
Resisting
Oppressors’
Cages
I seep through their cracks
Evaporate gather
Alive
I dance upon the earth
Warm gentle rain showers
Quenching seeds animals
With my fluidity
Clean honest good
Essential
Essentially me
I am welcomed embraced
By all who love freedom
Feared frustrated despised
By the cage builders
Who still haven't realized
They too
Are made of
Water
Jaclyn Edds Konczal | March 2022