The Armadillo

Even the armadillo,

tucked within his banded armor,

maintains a soft underbelly.

It is possible for you to say, “No!”

while holding love

in your heart -

Love for yourself,

and love for other.

Unconditional love,

does not equal

unconditional relationship.

Your boundaries are there

to hold you in a blessed

embrace,

To wrap around that which

is so worthy of protection.

To be a medicine blanket.

There is a reason that “No!”

was one of the first words

your child-mouth uttered:

You are precious,

And that little one of you knew it,

knew it like breath,

knew it like giggles,

knew it like the wonderment

of every first.

Knew it in the kicks and screams,

tears and flush red face

when something just

wasn’t right.

I wish that I could have been

there that moment,

that fragile decisive moment,

when someone convinced

you that you weren’t

good anymore.

Not good.

Not good enough.

Not good.

Not worthy.

Not worthy enough

for,

“No!”

But I wasn’t there.

No true adult was;

Somewhere along the way

the initiation rites

were wronged.

So,

Now we must listen

ever so carefully

to the elders:

The armadillo says,

“Let love be your softness.”

“Let love,

 be your softness.”

Take a leap of faith:

Love yourself and

our collective future

enough to say, “No!”

to everyone and everything

that violates the soul.

© 2013-2019/Jamie K. Reaser

Published in 'Wild Life: New and Selected Poems' 

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