hi all-before i get into this poem, i have to tell you about the beautiful young lady who inspired it. her name is angela. she's 13, and she's gorgeous from the inside out. we met online. we're very close and i hope to get to meet her someday.

anyway, today she posted this poem in her journal called "dear body". it was basically a letter to her body saying she accepts it. after reading it, i wrote this:

#79 Dear Body
I know I don't treat you well
I know I put you through all kinds of Hell
Starving you and stuffing you till you're sick
And I'm sorry
So sorry I've treated you like this

God gave you to me
Body,
You are a gift!
But I have abused you
And used you
For my own selfishness
Sometimes, I'd rather abuse you
And numb the pain
Rather than stop and deal
With what I feel

Body,
Please forgive me!
I'm sorry I have not treasured you
The way my Father intended me to

Eyes
I love you!
You came from Dad
I'm sorry one of you is lazy
But I still think you're pretty
You let me devour books one after another
And you tirelessly put up with all the hours I spend staring at my computer

Mouth
There's so much I could say about you
Thanks for letting me enjoy those strawberries yesterday!
You're always letting me express what's on my heart through words and music
I love you!

Hands,
Oh hands!
I am so grateful to you!
You let me craft seventy-nine poems
And spill out my soul
Unto this blank canvas called a journal
You let me type and talk
To all my friends
From every corner of the world
You let me drive my chair
You let me play my keyboard all day long
Without you
I don't know what I'd do

Legs,
I'm sorry I've hated you so much
It shouldn't matter that you're weak and sore
Thanks for putting up with all the surgeries and therapy
And thanks for always standing back up when I fall
Thanks for letting me be pretty independant
And for letting me dance when I was little
For that, I'll always be grateful

Arms,
For years, you were the strongest part of me
But then therapy stopped
So you're weak again
I'm sorry
Thanks for pushing my chair all those years
And letting me decorate you with bracelets

Stomach,
I've never liked you
I always thought you were too fat
But now I'mstarting to see
That being a size two
Iisn't all it's made out to be
I'm sorry I have starved you
And stuffed you
And tortured you the most

Body,
I promise,
From now on,
I'll try to be a better host
I don't always think you're pretty
But every day,
I promise I'll find something on you I like

After all
God only gave me one of you
It's time I start treating you right
Fallon Marie

it was really hard to find things i like about my legs. they have been the source of so much pain in my life. for a long time, i thought that if i didn't have CP everything in my life would be better. but as i grew up, i realized many of my disabled friends have much worse disabilities than me. so i started to accept it. now, i am generally ok with my disability in and of itself. but i am still very self-concious about my legs. i hate that they swell and are sore a lot.

writing this was very theraputic. (sp?) it took a long time to write because it was hard for me to think of things i like about myself physically. i suggest (as angela did) that all of you try something similar. it really helps. thanks for the inspiration angela! love you! i might actually print this and put it in my room!-fallon