Temperature Control

My mother, when she slept, 
stuck one foot out
from underneath the blanket
and so controlled the temperature
lest she feel hot;
so then when chilled, 
would draw the out foot in..

 So, having learned, I keep
one foot outside of every camp,
not to be caught
completely out or in,  
to carefully maintain a bit of freedom
among the whims.

 I dress and look like others. 
My thoughts are different,
still never quite enough to cause dismay.
And always maintain a bridge 
that may be crossed,
comfortably, by those considered different.

 Time, eventually, erodes all difference.
There is a trend 
to blurring shades and lines,
signs, declarations, and borders.
What I see, instead, 
is growing continuity and a graded line 
that finally completes its own circle.

 It may be time 
will turn that thought to be a weakness 
into strength:
evolution’s criteria of species that made the climb.
up the ladder first to acceptance
and then to prime
by judgements based on evidence,
not fear and lying;
where men sit side by side in silence, 
just sit together,
whether inside or outside a camp.