Tell Me that I Can't

Tell me that I can’t one more time
I beg of you
One more put down, one more phrase that uses the words
Can not, will not, stoppable, impossible
For every time you try to bury me, on the contrary it seems to carry me
You think your words are scary
but like the mouse from Tom and Jerry I will fight
And I love when you say I can’t
because you give me the power to make you devour the sour words you spit
faster than rush hour
So tell me I can’t dance
so I can show you the prettiest possible pirouette you’ve seen
Tell me I can’t jump
so I can bring you a piece of the moon
and prove to you that it really is made of cheese
Tell me I won’t be anything in life
so I have hope that I can make myself more important than the pope
Tell me I’m not strong enough
so I can move massive mountains with all my might
and make you measure my monster-sized muscles
Tell me my voice sucks
so I can sing The Song that Never Ends to you all day long
Tell me I’m dumb
so I can slap my report card in your face
and brace yourself because in this case my slap won't feel like an embrace
but it will send you falling from your grace
to a space where you will wish to replace those words that hurt like mace
But not to me
They don’t hurt to me
In fact, I feed on your discouragement, fire up on your hate
and fuel on your lack of belief
Because I love to prove you wrong
More than the hungry need a soup can,
more than the Amish need a spray tan,
more than teens need a cellphone ban
and more than Rihanna needs a new man
I need to prove you wrong
I need to see that expression on your face when you finally feel my “embrace”
When you turn on the TV and there I am
not my mug shot like you said
but me
Accomplishing exactly what you said I couldn’t do
And at the moment
please don’t feel sad, or discouraged or sorry
Thank yourself,
Because you’re the one who said I couldn’t.