STUBBORNLY WHOLELY ME

I am demanding and stubborn To be my whole self, completely For that, I’d gone through hell Sleepless nights filled with tears Fragile days on the verge of breaking Self Doubt, blame, and rejection dominated my rumination And yet, stubbornly I stood my ground, and shared my truths

Some might dismiss and tremble on it Others might disown me for it But again and again, I picked it up And proudly chose my authentic self over approval and conformity I demand to be my whole self To be known, loved, and valued for my sweetness, fierceness, and complicatedness My feeling-too -deep -ness My too American ness Or my too-Vietnamese-ness My sensitivity and creativity My exuberance and desperation My social justice mindedness My faith in true love and self work My girlyness and feminism My womanhood My humanistic values And my audacity to stay true to all of these me-ness

So, if I care, I will share my truths with you And demand that you know and love them all You can decide if you are in the right place You can go or you can stay But if you bravely accept my bid for connection We can all share in this freedom and bliss of being wonderfully, unapologetically, and stubbornly whole.