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This poem was inspired by, and borrows its title from a poem by Sarah Kay.
If you grow up to be the type of boy
that people want to touch
you can tell them to look away when they do it.
If you grow up to be a type of body
that people tell you is supposed to be basked in shame
you are allowed to shed it.
If you grow up to be the type of boy
who is searching for his body in someone else's
you can pick up a mirror and look until you find yourself.
You can move your arms freely and
you can call your body divine no matter what they say.
I will hear you, and I will listen.
If you grow up to be the type of boy who wants to be touched
you can let him touch you.
And you can love him back with both hands.
You can love without losing yourself. Your feet can still be firmly rooted in the ground, planted in your own
heart. You do not need to leave the earth
in order to be swept off your feet.