This One's For the Kid in the Back Row

[Richard]

Hey Lizzie,
Your poem deals with some important ideas, but there are times when I feel like you're not fully explaining your ideas. I'll go into more detail below:

Ask me anything.
We need to talk about it. -When I first read this, I thought the use of the word "it" was vague. However, it sets up the poem nicely as the rest of this piece fills in what the "it" is.

You don't have to phrase it in any particular way,
or worry about saying something non-PC.
Let's be real and talk about everything
to do with the freak. -This line gives the impression that the speaker was going to talk about a specific freak. May be add some quotation marks, so it syncs up with the next stanza.

We have a history of the ‘freak’, like,

“you’re a freak, get away from me.”

I've reclaimed the words – I am
a natural born freak – not as an insult -The phrase "natural born freak" makes me happy for some reason. In my opinion, it's a phrase that everyone should be able to relate to if they are honest with themselves.
but as identity and power. -I feel like you cover the idea of the speaker using the word freak as part of their identity well. I think you might need to add more to fully address how identifying one's self as a freak gives them power. I get the idea here, but I think you need to explore the power part more.

Freak, to me, is rarity. I see
people describing themselves as freaks
because they want to seem
less human. I use it to feel -I like how this line spills over from stanza to stanza. It gives the sentence emphasis, and that is good because it is important the main idea of your poem.

more human. I love the bed of nails,
I like putting a nail up my nose,  -This is all metaphorical, but sums up the speaker's feelings well.
that fine line between pleasure
and pain. I use my sense of touch,
I use my sense of hearing
to do aerials, hula hoops – I get what the speaker is going for here, but how does one use their sense of touch and hearing to do aerials? I would love to see a poem explaining that.
have you ever hooped?  -[b]I might be weird, but I don't associate hula hoops with being classified as a "freak." I would deem playing with a hula hoop as being old fashion, but that could just be my own world view. [/b]

Hold it behind your back with your hands tight,
turning little circles with your stomach.
Front, side, back, side; front, side, back, side.
Give it a bit of momentum;
you’ve got to fling it. -The wording in this stanza creates a nice description. In my opinion, this is a very sound stanza.

Let’s talk about this idea

of what is beautiful, what is grotesque. -Does the speaker ever go into more detail about what they think is grotesque?

Beauty is absolute awareness of experience.
It's a dangerous idea. -I love these last two lines. It's such an interesting idea. I just wish you explored it more. I just had a thought... if beauty is an absolute awareness of experience, does that mean grotesqueness is lack of experience or naivety, or the lack of awareness of experience? I would love to see you explore these ideas more. 

People don’t dare ask me about love

and relationships, if I’m really honest. -Knowing the info in the spoiler gave these lines more impact. I wish there was a way you could include the info from your spoiler in your poem some how because I think it is incredibly relevant for the reader to know that information. 

Nothing is more dangerous

than falling in love. -Again, I like these last two lines, but I think they need to be developed more. This idea about love could be a basis for an entire poem.

This is a found poem from interviews with Sarah Houbolt, a professional acrobat, paraolympian in swimming, and self-described "natural born freak." She performs and tours all over the world. Here's an interview with her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VbPg2CPe-U

I think you have some great ideas here that need to be explored more. I know what found poetry is, but I'm not super familiar with that format, so may be I'm being too harsh, and if that is the case, I apologize in advance. If nothing else, I think you should take some of the ideas here and develop them into their own poems.

Cheers,
Richard