Written by various writers at SaidSimple.com, this is a work in progress.

More Honoring my Body Poetry

My legs take me where I want to go.

My legs take me where I want to go.
Even though they aren't that straight,
and they don't look quite right,
they have served me my whole life.
I first learned to walk,
then I learned to run.
Doctors probably didn't think I would do either.
I love my legs.
But I have to admit that sometimes I wish they were normal.

They grew into ballerina legs.

I hated my legs so much when I was young.  My family called me names like "bird legs" because they were so long and thin.  I had worn leg braces as a very young child to straighten the curve in the thigh bones and feet that just wouldn't point in the right direction.  As I grew, my knees were too knobby and my legs were like sticks.

In high school, I discovered the weight room.  Very few girls wandered there, but I did.  I spent countless hours there alone after school working my legs.  I walked everywhere and discovered that while my knees couldn't withstand the torque or sprinting, I could run for miles and miles.  I joined the track team.  I rode horseback every chance I could even though it hurt my knees to be forced into that position.

What had once been skinny and twisted were now strong and only slightly off.  You'll never see me stand with my feet together- I learned a long time ago it accentuates what the braces couldn't completely repair.

My legs were Ugly Ducklings.  They grew into ballerina legs, Tina Turner legs, legs that could kick a six-foot man in the head, and balance on three inch stilettos.  Legs that could turn a head.  I still can't sit cross-legged or even on the floor for more than a few minutes without my knees locking painfully up, but I love my legs now.  They were everything everyone thought I couldn't be and are everything I thought I could.

Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time There Was This Cute Bubbly Baby Girl; Who was Her Mothers De-lite; Even though I Had One Leg Shorter Than The Other 3 1/2 inches; So The Doctors Decided to Experiment With Her Daughters Hips and Legs; She Could Walk; Run Jump; And Play All This With A Slight Limp.  They Made Me Prance Around On Stage With A Full Audience of male Doctors; "She Walks And Wobbles Like A Duck They Said, At 1year of Age The Nightmare Started!  Years Away from Mom and Sister Tied Up Pulled By Weights Lying on a Board; Probed Cut Open Again & Again; Relearning How To Walk Over And Over Again; Each Time A Little Worse; Instead of improving!  On Top Of All This Mistakes were Made And More And More Pain Ensued.  Cut Nerves?  "Oh No" docs said; "Damaged; They Will Return"?  No Contradictions from any Doctors; So Why Are My Legs In A Wheelchair Now?  Well Yes I Got Legs But Don't Know How To Use Them.  Sometimes I Feel They Are In My Way.