I breathe and the I
Love and the I
Am and the I
Is extra

I held father’s hand
Smelled mother’s perfume
In eucalyptus after rain
You could find me

Enveloped in your arms
Hot breath, a vital, portable
Part of you stays, part of me
That goes with you

In winter, in summer
Disappointed and happy
With my body in pain
And the soothing of pain

Times I believed I could change
The world, times I believed
I was extra
I wore clothes and read books

I could have hated, chose
Not to and there was no I
My heart, my lungs
Legs, hands and liver

Held me indistinctly
A member of groups
Nothing unique
About my experience

For I had not valued uniqueness
For I had not considered
Uniqueness required
For my experience to be valuable