Fertile passions

helped me remember

my strength when I decided to leap

yet my new living space did not stimulate my senses

instead I was confined by prejudices of neighbors

judging my family size

the adult to child ratio

pairing it with my skin

Judging my story

I never lived this close to them before

cracking blue ice of naivety

a space the sun never quite rose in

thinking it was safe for me now in this world

with every movement

noise calls were made about me

we couldn’t walk

couldn’t move

couldn’t play

All of us afraid to breathe

like we were all an animal sighting

Of something once extinct

Observed as a subhuman until I retreated to another space

where my toes were allowed to spread.