Quaker Meeting last Sunday
Used to go every week
But haven’t been in years.
Lots of good people there
I wanted to sit with them in silence.

Afterwards, a Friend came up to me
And without small talk
Launched into a discussion about
Being normal versus being authentic.
In retrospect, maybe she saw me as
A kindred spirit, both of us being
Not normal. Both of us familiar with
The sting of rejection.

When you live outside the norm
You can make people who live inside it uncomfortable
You call into question the rules and assumptions
They’ve based their lives on.
Living outside the norm
It’s important to create a support system
And find kindred spirits
People to share stories with,
To cook for, to laugh with, to cry with
To love.

I’ve lived both inside
And outside the norm
And I’ve learned that
Magic lives outside the norm.
Magic doesn’t like living in a box.