Becoming Human

They gave me names for what they saw Words to explain the road I walked They wrote them down beside my name Then told me what my future was Some words helped me understand things Some gave language to the pain But somewhere in the weight of naming I almost disappeared beneath the page I can hear what I have been told I can ask the questions too I can care for this human body Without surrendering who I am to you I am becoming human One breath, one heartbeat at a time More than every word beside my name More than every measured line I may carry a diagnosis But I will not become the sentence I am more than what was written down I am still becoming human One may move a little slower One may hear the whole world loud One may think in colors, patterns See what others never notice in the crowd One may shake One may struggle One may need another way But none of that can measure Every gift a soul may bring into the day We are not broken for being different We are not lesser for needing care Every person carries something Only that heart came here to share A label may describe a moment A name may help explain the road But no single word can hold a lifetime No diagnosis holds the whole We are becoming human One breath, one heartbeat at a time More than every word beside our names More than every measured line We may carry a diagnosis But we do not become the sentence We are more than what was written down We are still becoming human I have heard what others called me I have heard what they believed I have heard predictions spoken Like the future had already been received I listened I learned I asked the questions I cared for what my body needed too But I refused to hand those words the power To decide what I could still become or do Take away the labels What remains? A breath moving through a body A heart still learning how to love A mind still reaching toward tomorrow A soul still looking up Take away the judgments What remains? A person standing here before you Not a chart Not a number Not a word someone once used A life A story A thousand things still becoming true Keep the words that help you understand Lay down the ones that build a wall Use the tools that help you heal But never let the tool become your all Care for the body Honor the journey Ask for help when help is due But remember underneath every description There is still a living, breathing you We are becoming human One breath, one heartbeat at a time Every body, every story Every soul allowed to shine We can hear the words they give us Without becoming every sentence We are more than every prediction We are more than every label We are becoming human Different roads beneath one sky Learning, loving, falling, rising Still discovering who we are inside No word can hold a lifetime No box can hold a soul We are living this experience And every one of us is whole So if someone hands you a label Hold the word gently in your hand Ask whether the word helps you understand Ask whether the word helps you heal Keep what serves the journey Lay down what does not You are not the sentence You are not the page You are not the prediction You are the life still being lived One step One breath One heartbeat Still becoming Still learning Still here Becoming human