When I was born,
I had spots like a fawn,
And they were perfect for me.
They hid me from the evil envy of others,
And protected me from predators of doubt.
But as I grew, I came to see,
My spots were much too big for me,
And I was not a deer,
But a cat,
And the dark rosettes that covered me
Were that of the Jaguar.

I didn't think I'd ever grow into
The spots of a leopard
And become a predator myself.
An awkward stage beginning in my teens,
And lasting four decades, when
Finally at age fifty-three,
I find that step by step
And bit by bit,
I'm equipped to hunt down my dreams
And live well in the skin that I'm in.

And so if I smile at night,
Lying in the dark,
Where no one can me but the stars,
It's only because
I'm happy.

-jenn