Freedom: independence of thought, choice or action; personal liberty.



Expression: act of expressing or communicating something in words as thoughts, opinions or ideas; quality or manner of communicating feeling or meaning.



With no chains to hold me down,

I walk upon the ground.

I chose the path I wished to take

with my hair real long, even though it was fake.

The holes in my ears went up to my brain,

and each one caused only little pain.

The clothes I wore hung down to the floor.

My mother used to tell me "No more, no more."

My nails were red as the color of blood

and almost as long as the largest flood.

My eyes were the color of the sky above,

but don't get me wrong - they were full of love.

My skin was real light unlike any other.

I was told it looked like peanut butter.



My walk was hard; my mind was strong,

and with no one to stop me I continued on.

I picked up some friends, you just might say,

and some of them stabbed me along the way.

My enemies used to look at my hair.

Their eyes tried to grab me in a cold, hard stare.

Some even came to me and looked me in the face,

and said, "You know you don't fit in this place."

And I said, "I'm sorry. I thought I was a part

of the human race."

And with the slightest little pause,

I continued to walk, my nails sharp as claws.



This path I walked was hard and rough.

The words I spoke were strong and tough.

The things I said were, "Love one another;

don't look down on your sister or brother."

The people who heard wanted to slap me.

The people who saw wanted to trap me.

But it's my right, as you can see;

I thought you knew that we were free.

The freedom to express ourselves is clear.

The people have freedom to or not to hear.



So if I want to grow my hair long,

or if I want to sing out in song,

if I want to war baggy clothes,

if I want my nails to grow,

if these are the things I want to do,

it's my choice - you have one too.

And these things, I hope you see,

what freedom of expression means to me.