You can't shortcut survival
The reality of learned protection
people gently say
you can unmask with me
as if it’s a flip i switch
at first i hoped i’d find
that switch where one
seamlessly morphs
from neurotypical
to neurodivergent
like a superhero
in a cloud of light
instead
the inconvenient reality
is this mask was honed
from decades of
confusion
scanning
editing
adjusting
tracking down
the right thing
to say in each
situation
when my safety
has depended on
masking
your safety alone
isn’t enough to
stop those patterns
but you can
gently remind me
i know you do so much
to connect and communicate
if you ever want to practice
other ways of being
i’m glad to practice with you
— there we go
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