Who am I?
I am me.
That is all I will ever be.
Sick and tired,
Distraught and dying,
Your hatred is blinding.

So tell me now,
What is so different,
Between you and I?
I read and write.
I take walks in twilight.
I love and hate,
Smile and cry,
So I must ask; why?

I am your brother,
Sister, your neighbour
Your friend.
The one you see,
Ambling around the bend.
Still your words cut,
Straight through the heart.

Freak. Unnatural. Gay
That's what they say.
I am the unwanted.
The "different".
The insane.

A girl whom loves girls,
A guy who fancies men,
Condemned for a choice not mine.
And, what right have you to judge?
The pain that you sow,
You hold a grudge,
For what you do not know.

So yes, I am a lover of mine own gender,
But also a lover of cats and dogs,
Of beautiful things.
I am me, in my own right.

I feel the dawn on my skin,
Hear sweet whisperings in the din,
Gentle rays show me free land,
Yet I see through the illusion.
For I am trapped.
Barred by your brand.

It is now that the fear returns.
A fear of dying; yet
I need to die.
I cannot stand being snared in this net.
Can no longer take,
the bite of your lie.

You have stolen my tears,
my smile and laughter.
Marred me until I can no longer get better.
Simply because my preferences differ?
But was it me who gave them to you?
Was it I who let you wreak such havoc?

Who is it that destroys?
The naysayer, or those who take their words?
Was it my fault?
For letting myself be condemned?
Well here I say to you;

Say what you want,
say what you may
For here I stand;
Proudly gay.