Mainstream ME?       

Thank you -- but ...
I need no more from you
Beyond the basic good manners set down in any society
Unwritten guidelines
Concerning
How one human being treats another

I am not rare
Anymore than your nephew
Or a red-haired teacher
Or a skinny cheerleader

I am sorry laws were necessary
To mainstream me -
...Such a humorous gesture,
Like mainstreaming a colt in a pasture
I was baptized in the stream of life
The day I was born

I am part of the Earth
Like the leaves on the tree,
The fingers on your hand,
The stones and the mountains
Of various shapes and hues

I am simply a child
To whom you are responsible;
To teach, to guide, to discipline,
And depending on your size as a person,
TO LOVE!!!

...Connie Hall Stockard