Poetry

Again?

I’ll say it again

I will say it a million times over

I will say it till you believe it

I will say it till you fall asleep

The first time the words touched my ears

I sobbed,

stricken on the ground.

The second time,

I cried 

and was inconsolable.

The third time

do I like myself?

no.

do I accept myself?

no.

do I appreciate myself?

no.

yet do I wish I was someone else?

no.

She says, I’m scared, 
and I don’t lie, 
I am too. 

Scared in the quiet, 
scared of how much 
this matters. 

Except for one moment: 
when I’m beside her. 

I almost said forever,
the way people do
when they want the moment to stop moving.

But I know I’m temporary
in ways you aren’t.

And loving you
has been the happiest
I’ve ever felt.

i wonder if that barren winter tree shivers in the wind 

wishing on its last leaf for the revitalizing life of spring to come sooner. 

i wonder if that isolated cloud feels the weight of the rain it carries 

We are such remarkable beings;

In the hearts we have learned to draw

beat our brilliance through persistence

and the way how even when we feel

as if our lungs have been shattered,

what was left of our love blown

The declaration declares "All men are created equal."

Only men. Not nonbinaries, women, genderfluids, or anyone else. Only men.

Now, people say they meant everyone, but that's a lie.

If we’re not here, where

would we be? Who would I be

if I wasn’t me?

In the dark of the night when the winds start to call 

and the leaves in the trees shake and tremble and fall 

there is something that moves like a shadowing thrall 

I’m tired.

Tired of being another number on an attendance sheet.

I’m tired of waking early to work all day

I’m tired of a system made for the privileged 

My existence is not for others

it does not heal the wounded 

my words are costume, foam steel at most.

I exist to live a life that continues the cycle

I'm a mirror of society that has painted