Andie Bottrell
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GO, EXPLORE

4/13/2018

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why do they make us scared
of anything but these special few
ways of living?

so condensed are the spaces
given us to explore
in this vast, vast world
of experiences

they say you can only love one
t r u l y
and that one love must be
one of a body with the opposite
gender as yours

and that your body must be
this way or that
must meet certain regulations

a woman must have breasts
but never in public
only in private

they say we must find
success in this life
and that success is monetary

they say that doing anything but
the status quo is not just failure
but harmful

but how do they know?

so much repeating of what's
been passed down, without
examining if it's worth passing down

so much fear of doing something
different
of saying, what if i start
from a blank page
and build what i know based on
what i discover to be good and true

and what if i don't give two hoots
to what you and all the others
have passed down from generations
of miserable people telling convenient lies
in an effort to subjugate order
and mishandle those we wish to see as
weak
who could, in fact, be
wildly unique and whole and
add a new color into an ever
evolving world?

why are we so sunken in the ordinary
so loyal to the past and its
colorless, out-of-focus gaze?

they tell us to want a binary
a world of black and whites
but life--if you've ever observed it
in the wild--is anything but simple, e v e r

it is a sunny April day
turned to snow
a flower growing through
concrete
a wolf who loves cuddling a
squirrel; a never ending list of
seeming hypocrisies, but really
it's just life--in all its varying forms

and just because you do it different
doesn't mean it's less good, less moral,
less worthy of the respect all living things deserve

so for the love of all the breaths
you've been given, take a morsel of courage
in these words, and give yourself the chance
to explore beyond what you've been told
to do, to expect, to demand, to attain, to be,
to accept, to live in this world...

there is so much more

we should not live our lives for the universal "you"
we were not born under a spotlight,
nor in the audience to judge
we are born unto ourselves, alone
each breath, each thought, a monologue

who are you?
how far can you go?
what new things can you feel?
what new wonders may delight?
what new humanity can you shed light on,
can you mine for?
how true can you be in your exploration--
to yourself?

the pull of the social "should"
is mighty
but ultimately its weight is a facade
they trick us into carrying,
a Trojan Horse, sold to you illegally,
a magic trick to make you forget
that you are in charge of the narrative

what do you want?

go, explore
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    About

    Hey! I'm Andie Bottrell, a multidisciplinary creative living in Springfield, MO. I share stories (autobiographical and fictional), poems, and other creative or personal musings here. 

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