True Confessions

The inspiration for this poem…

I think of this poem as my teacher poem because the embarrassing fingers “covered with marker stains and snot from dirty door knobs” are straight from life in the classroom. However, I am comparing my naturally stubby fingers with more elegant fingers that I envy, which is straight from my own life. This poem started off with the title of “Betrayal” until I realized my fingers never betrayed me. I betrayed them by not seeing how hard they were working to care for me like no one else on Earth. “True Confessions” turned out to be a perfect title to admit my vanity in not fully accepting the care of my stubby little fingers, who, as it turns out, are very good at doing their job! The power of this poem lies in coming back to the amazement of how our bodies care for us even if they don’t look fancy doing it! It softened my heart to my sweet fingers.

This poem is read more often than any other at my readings due to the fact that it starts with a bang, rolls off my tongue, and ends with heart. It’s the one I always remember which makes it easy to deliver with a punch!

Writing/Meditation Prompts:

• Does one of your body parts embarrass you (or evoke some other emotion)? Personify it and call it out! How might that part respond?

• How much do we compartmentalize our bodies and/or psyches into separated parts? Are any parts working against us? Do you favor, overlook, take advantage of, or downright dislike any parts? Why?

• How do we integrate them all back together in a unified whole working together on our behalf?

• Make a list of all your body does without even being asked.

• Do your expectations for your own body get in the way of your appreciation for what it does for you? How?

• Write a text, letter, or poem to your body as either a rant, true confession, or an apology. Share it with your body.

• Do a body scan with your eyes closed and move through each part of your body, in thanks…