No, You Cannot | Teen Ink

No, You Cannot MAG

November 6, 2008
By Anonymous

It is a new nation,
a nation that proudly proclaims:
“Yes we can.”
But what power holds “yes we can,”
when America has told many of our
brothers and sisters
“no, you cannot”?
You cannot follow your heart.
You cannot move forward.
You cannot take a hand.
You cannot break the mold.
“Marriage is a holy bond
for a man and a woman
it is not yours to taint,” they say.
Where is the future?
Relentlessly we must
keep striving for a better day.
We must stop this hatred
and bring about change in the
wake of defeat.


The author's comments:
This piece was written after Prop 8 was passed in California, a national tragedy at the state level.

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This article has 396 comments.


on May. 4 2017 at 12:54 pm
invisible_to_all BRONZE, Corning, California
2 articles 0 photos 11 comments
wow your really good keep doing the poems your talented. keep working

on Apr. 7 2014 at 9:45 pm
juliamolly BRONZE, Bedford, New York
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
It always works out in the end, if it didn't work out, its not the end.

Really like this! But--i think the audience could get very confused including myself with the repetition and I think you should work on word choice more. Nice concept :)

on Oct. 29 2012 at 1:49 pm
LestyPatrick PLATINUM, Darlington, South Carolina
43 articles 5 photos 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, in as much as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and very fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterward carefully avoid"John Keats

This poem is straightforward and true. And, yes, we all must continue striving :)

on Oct. 29 2012 at 10:13 am
MarieAntoinette2014 DIAMOND, Scottsburg, Indiana
54 articles 2 photos 237 comments

Favorite Quote:
Isn't it ironic? We ignore the ones who adore us, adore the ones who ignore us, love the ones who hurt us, and hurt the ones that love us.

I like this poem a lot. I agree that homosexuals should have rights because they are citizens and in the end that is what this boils down to plain and simple. I'm sorry but we are obsessed with our rights so we have to look at this aspect. In the end, we have to ask ourselves this: Does religion out way the rights of our citizens? Great job, Kayla.

on Oct. 7 2012 at 7:39 pm
theatregirl PLATINUM, Lathrup Village, Michigan
30 articles 12 photos 209 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To thine own self be true," -from Hamlet, a play by Shakespeare.
"I have sworn on the altar of god eternal hostility against all forms of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson

stop arguing! it just a poem/1 whether or not you agree is up to you, but stop arguing about.

on Oct. 7 2012 at 7:36 pm
theatregirl PLATINUM, Lathrup Village, Michigan
30 articles 12 photos 209 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To thine own self be true," -from Hamlet, a play by Shakespeare.
"I have sworn on the altar of god eternal hostility against all forms of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson

the brighter part, i think you are right. plus, even if you don't agree with message of poem, you must admit it is well thought out and good.

on Aug. 2 2012 at 6:08 pm
Aramis_999 PLATINUM, Matthews, North Carolina
25 articles 0 photos 54 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be strong, believe in freedom and in God, love yourself, understand your sexuality, have a sense of humor, don’t judge people by their religion, color or sexual habits, love life and your family. -Madonna

Verry well writen. I totaly agree with you.

bluhs said...
on May. 6 2012 at 8:49 pm
bluhs, E, Alabama
0 articles 0 photos 111 comments
A very passionate piece and so truthful. You are a great writer.

on May. 6 2012 at 8:30 am
natjane27 SILVER, DKI Jakarta, Other
6 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
I can do all things with Christ who strengthens me

amazing poem :D i like the repetition of the "you cannot", it really creates an impact. keep writing :)

on May. 6 2012 at 2:40 am
curlygurlray GOLD, Visalia, California
18 articles 1 photo 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
you have the life you let yourself take.

this is really good because this deals with my problems and many more congrads on a job well done(;

on Apr. 14 2012 at 3:10 pm
Mimi15 PLATINUM, Belfast, Maine
49 articles 0 photos 73 comments
Wow! This is really great. Sorry for the advertising, but do you mind checking out some of my newer work? Keep writing :)

on Mar. 1 2012 at 1:12 pm
mylifestarringme BRONZE, Boise, Idaho
2 articles 4 photos 22 comments
Wow that is so true.

jasso GOLD said...
on Mar. 1 2012 at 10:19 am
jasso GOLD, Damascus, Other
16 articles 10 photos 68 comments

Favorite Quote:
courge dose not always roar, Sometimes courge is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying : i will try again tomorrow

i love it , it holds a lot of truth

and this truth is not only in america but in a lot contries...


Muzix BRONZE said...
on Feb. 10 2012 at 4:52 pm
Muzix BRONZE, Washington, District Of Columbia
3 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
life is never promised so live it to the fullest

I agree and great job

on Feb. 8 2012 at 4:07 pm
jesusfreak23 BRONZE, Memphis, Tennessee
2 articles 0 photos 5 comments
that's where i believe many people are wrong. their minds are too conformed to the concepts and beliefs of this society. not everyone is bold enough to be unconformed and set themselves apart from the crowd for God. but hey. people are going to disagree.

on Feb. 8 2012 at 11:09 am
GingerLily BRONZE, Aulnay-sur-Mauldre, Other
3 articles 6 photos 78 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world" - Oscar Wilde

It'd be hard to disagree with that. Your point is so perfectly made, and true.

on Feb. 8 2012 at 7:49 am
thebrighterparts BRONZE, Newton, Massachusetts
3 articles 0 photos 7 comments
I agree utterly.

on Feb. 8 2012 at 7:49 am
thebrighterparts BRONZE, Newton, Massachusetts
3 articles 0 photos 7 comments
I disagree. I don't think that Christianity has been made unconstitutional; I believe that people must disagree. Christianity is a beautiful religion. Being a homosexual is just part of who and what you are. You can't change that.

on Jan. 20 2012 at 4:50 pm
BlueRain BRONZE, Clarkston, Michigan
2 articles 5 photos 254 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you was beyond my control."

I wasn't going towards a fight. Just like you said, a discussion. Though many of the morals we follow are found in the Christian religion, that doesn't mean they were founded on Christian morals. The morals we (try) to practice in America can be found in other religions. We just correspond them with Christianity because we have a large amount of Christians in this country.

D. said...
on Jan. 17 2012 at 10:21 pm
Not only is this a beautifully written poem, it gets accross a point that is 100% true. Your repetition of 'you cannot' really shows what the central theme of the poem is. Even if I didn't have the same beliefs, I would be hard pressed to disagree after reading a poem like this.