Who Are You?
Who are you
To stand there and judge
what you refuse to understand?
Your position holding tall
Over those you’ve deemed too weak
To push back.
Looking down on us
At our most vulnerable, like we are nothing
But voiceless shadows.
Who are you
To speak of which
You’ve never lived?
False attempts to empathize
Evident by the lifeless gaze
In your eyes
Leaves those around you
Feeling belittled and alone.
Who are you
To laugh at the very pieces
That make life unbearable
To those who must endure?
You’re attempts to make light
Of the tumultuous storm
That rains heavy on us every day
Only further pushes us back
Into the shackles
We fight so hard
To break through.
Who are you
To look at us
Like we are anything
But human –
In need of the same love
And compassion as you?
The fear and hate
You hold in your heart for us
Only perpetuates our stigmatization.
We are no different.
We feel what you feel.
We long for happiness
And success the same as you.
Our ability to express
Those feelings
May not look the same
And our successes
May not meet the same
Requirements as yours.
But isn’t that okay?
After all, we are human.
We are diverse.
We may not be able to quiet
The voices in our head
Or hold true to the same social graces as others
But we are man,
Made from the same cloth.
We are human.
We laugh and we cry.
We feel and we yearn.
Our hearts can love and in the same breath be shattered.
And the closets we have confined ourselves to
Are no different than the ones you live in every day.
We are all hiding behind our own masks,
Praying no one sees what makes us most vulnerable.
We are all struggling to find ourselves
In the ambiguity that is our lives.
And I can’t help but wonder,
Isn’t that hard enough?
Do you ever tire of projecting
Your fears and anxiety on those around you?
Do you ever wish you could just take
A deep breath and step out of your closet?
Believe me, I get it. But belittling me does nothing
To shrink down the walls of your closet.
You must look within,
For that is where you will find the peace
You need to grow fully into your own skin.
And maybe for a little while,
You could stop standing there judging me
And start asking yourself,
“Who do I want to be?”